Dear All,



The PREMIS Editorial Committee is delighted to announce the release of a new version of the controlled vocabulary for preservation events.

The list of events and descriptions are now available on the website [http://www.loc.gov/standards/premis/v3/preservation-events.pdf]. They will be made available on the Library of Congress linked data service shortly [http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/preservation.html].



What is it about?

Preservation events are at the core of what we, as a professionals working in digital preservation, do. They are the indicators of the functions we undertake on digital objects in our care and are therefore key to ensuring the integrity of those objects.  This version of the controlled vocabulary updates the existing list of 16 events.



Why an updated version?

The existing vocabulary was first generated in 2010 and last modified in 2012. A lot has happened since then including an increase in the number of organisations with experience in undertaking digital preservation activities and a shift in the depth of knowledge about these activities. This update takes advantage of these experiences and advances and now defines 42 events.



What is covered?

To be clear, this vocabulary of events does not cover all functions that a preservation repository will undertake. Such an undertaking would assume a homogeneity across institutions and systems. The digital preservation community is not yet at that stage. The vocabulary contains what we believe to be a strong representation of activities that a preservation programme could be undertaking. Local implementations should of course supplement the vocabulary with their own events where required.



Who was involved?

The review was led by the PREMIS Editorial Committee. In addition to the PREMIS EC members, I would like to acknowledge the work of Lina Bountouri of the EU Publications Office who participated as a member of the working group. The review also benefitted immensely from input from individuals and institutions who offered expert advice and support at various stages.



Further documentation giving more context about the events and how they could be used will be posted to the PREMIS website in the coming weeks. Any questions can be sent to either to the PREMIS Implementers list ([log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>) or to me ([log in to unmask]).



Best,



Peter



----------------------------

Peter McKinney | Digital Preservation Policy Analyst

National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Mātauranga o Aoteatora

Direct Dial: +64 4 462 3931 |  http://digitalpreservation.natlib.govt.nz/

The National Library of New Zealand is part of the Department of Internal Affairs