Hi Priscilla,
We use rendition rather than representation as the term in our own work
at Portico. I don't think that the GPO's use of rendition is problematic:
a PDF rendition is a single format single object while an HTML rendition is a
compound object made up of one or more files. In our internal
content model, the logical object (a journal article) includes a basket of
components (XML, PDF, GIF, TIFF, JPEG, MPEG, etc. etc.) which can make up
multiple renditions (print, web HTML, web PDF). We classify all the
pieces in this basket by function: PDF are page renditions, HTML are web
renditions, and most of the rest are components referenced by the renditions. We
are just now encountering for the first time PDF files with links to external
objects such spreadsheets; it looks like the PDF is getting to be more like the
HTML in terms of compoundness. Our basic assumption for e-journals is
that there are multiple renditions of a given intellectual object; that isn’t
true for all kinds of content of course. But I still like rendition as a
term.
I recently found a diagram from November 2003 that I did for one of the
early PreMIS discussions trying to sort out migration relationships (horizontal)
and compound rendition relationships (vertical). We didn’t end up
implementing this exactly this way at Portico, but the picture is interesting.
I’ve included it below.
---- Evan
Figure 1
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Subject: [PIG] should we use a different term for representation?
This question came up at the last Editorial Committee call and we
decided to test the waters by asking the PIG: Should we use a
different
term for "representation"?
In PREMIS, a representation is defined as a "Digital Object
instantiating or embodying an Intellectual Entity. A representation is
the set of stored Files and structural metadata needed to provide a
complete and reasonable rendition of the Intellectual
Entity." All
semantic units in the PREMIS data dictionary are defined as appropriate
to Files, Bitstreams or Representations.
The original working group used the term "representation"
partly to
avoid confusion with the FRBR term "manifestation". The
two concepts
are close enough to cause confusion but not identical. We were
aware of
the meaning of "representation information" in OAIS, but we
thought the
OAIS concept and the PREMIS concept were different enough that there
would be no confusion.
I'm not sure that has been the case. There does seem to be some
confusion over what a PREMIS representation is, but I don't know if any
of it is due to confusion with the OAIS representation.
In any case, it may not be wise to use the same term with two different
meanings within the same (preservation) community. So, should we
try to
come up with a different term for the PREMIS representation now, as the
Data Dictionary is being revised? Or leave it be, since nobody
has
actually complained about the term (that we know).
And those who think we should use another term, what term might be
preferable? I have thought of "rendition" but the US
Government
printing office uses that term in their FDsys with a different meaning,
as an "Instance of a publication expressed using a specific
digital
format". Something has to convey the idea that a
representation may
consist of more than one file, and that the files can have different
formats. Perhaps "assembly"?
p