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I agree with Merrilee that provenance is too loaded to use, though also
don't have the perfect term.   Any of the others proposed would work
fine, though I confess a personal affection for "digiprocess" just for
the rhythm of the word!
Terry

On Wed, 13 Jun 2001 12:20:25 -0700 Merrilee Proffitt
<[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> I can't suggest the perfect term, but I will weigh in AGAINST
> provenance.  Preservation or process are fine with me.  But I sill never be
> able to explain this "special" use of the word provenance to my rare book,
> archives, and museum pals.
>
> Merrilee
>
> At 04:20 PM 6/8/2001 -0400, you wrote:
> >Jerry and Nancy Hoebelheinrich:  Thanks for the notes about "provenance"
> >and "process."  It is difficult to come up with the perfect word, hence
> >this exchange.
> >
> >One version of the OAIS definition for provenance is this: "Provenance
> >Information describes the source of Content Information, who has had
> >custody of it, what is its history." (from a 1999 PowerPoint from the
> >OAIS guys) This may cover a bit more ground than what we had in our
> >processMD, which was focused on the chain of events that transformed X
> >without attempting to offer a full description of X.
> >
> >We worry less about the fit to the OAIS dictionary than the possible
> >terminological dissonance with our colleagues in libraries, archives,
> >and (above all) museums, where _provenance_ has a special meaning that
> >may lead to confusion here.
> >
> >Thus Nancy's suggestion of a combined term like "preservprocess" may
> >have merit. There is logic to a term that expresses our wish to embrace
> >BOTH preservation-meaning-reformatting and
> >preservation-including-digital-migration.  But the logic of this term
> >may not outweigh its phonemic disadvantages.  Meanwhile, one of our
> >colleagues suggested alternates along the lines of "digiprov" or
> >"digiprocess."
> >
> >Dear readers!  Can anyone suggest the perfect term?
> >
> >Carl Fleischhauer
> >Library of Congress

Terry Ryan
Assoc University Librarian for Info Technology
11334 University Research Library
Box 951575
Los Angeles CA  90095-1575
310/825-1201
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