Provenance metadata

To maintain the authenticity of digital content, any changes to the data (and metadata) must be done in a controlled manner. This requires the documentation of the essential actions performed on the content during its entire life cycle.

In our example case, we create PREMIS provenance metadata, including events and agents, for the creation of five different files. There are several ways to do this, but we create separate provenance metadata sections for each event and agent.

In METS, they all follow the following notation for events:

<mets:md ID="[event-id]" USE="PROVENANCE" MDID="[agent-id]">
  <mets:mdWrap MDTYPE="PREMIS:EVENT" MDTYPEVERSION="3.0">
    <mets:xmlData>
      <premis:event>
        [...]
      </premis:event>            
    </mets:xmlData>
  </mets:mdWrap>
</mets:md>

and for agents:

<mets:md ID="[agent-id]" USE="PROVENANCE" MDID="[event-id]">
  <mets:mdWrap MDTYPE="PREMIS:AGENT" MDTYPEVERSION="3.0">
    <mets:xmlData>
      <premis:agent>
        [...]
      </premis:agent>
    </mets:xmlData>
  </mets:mdWrap>
</mets:md>

In the <mets:md> element, the ID and USE attributes describe the identifier and use of the metadata section, respectively. The MDID attribute refers from the event to the corresponding agent and vice versa, using the ID identifier of the section to be referenced. For provenance metadata, we recommend using the value PROVENANCE for the attribute USE. The elements <mets:mdWrap> and <mets:xmlData> indicate that the metadata is embedded in the section in XML format. The attributes MDTYPE and MDTYPEVERSION define that the type of the included metadata is PREMIS Event or Agent of version 3.0.

In our example, the PREMIS Event and Agent metadata is created separately for each of the five included files. They are all listed below:

• Provenance metadata for creation of Paper DOCX

  Provenance metadata section for PREMIS Event

    <mets:md ID="event-001" USE="PROVENANCE" MDID="agent-001">
      <mets:mdWrap MDTYPE="PREMIS:EVENT" MDTYPEVERSION="3.0">
        <mets:xmlData>
          <premis:event>
            <premis:eventIdentifier>
              <premis:eventIdentifierType>local</premis:eventIdentifierType>
              <premis:eventIdentifierValue>event-001</premis:eventIdentifierValue>
            </premis:eventIdentifier>
            <premis:eventType authority="premisEventType" authorityURI="http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/preservation/eventType" valueURI="http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/preservation/eventType/cre">creation</premis:eventType>
            <premis:eventDateTime>2021-12-01T15:05</premis:eventDateTime>
            <premis:eventDetailInformation>
              <premis:eventDetail>Object created with Microsoft Office Word</premis:eventDetail>
            </premis:eventDetailInformation>
            <premis:linkingAgentIdentifier>
              <premis:linkingAgentIdentifierType>local</premis:linkingAgentIdentifierType>
              <premis:linkingAgentIdentifierValue>agent-001</premis:linkingAgentIdentifierValue>
              <premis:linkingAgentRole authority="premisEventRelatedAgentRole" authorityURI="http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/preservation/eventRelatedAgentRole" valueURI="http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/preservation/eventRelatedAgentRole/exe">executing program</premis:linkingAgentRole>
            </premis:linkingAgentIdentifier>
          </premis:event>            
        </mets:xmlData>
      </mets:mdWrap>
    </mets:md>
  

  Provenance metadata section for PREMIS Agent

    <mets:md ID="agent-001" USE="PROVENANCE" MDID="event-001">
      <mets:mdWrap MDTYPE="PREMIS:AGENT" MDTYPEVERSION="3.0">
        <mets:xmlData>
          <premis:agent>
            <premis:agentIdentifier>
              <premis:agentIdentifierType>local</premis:agentIdentifierType>
              <premis:agentIdentifierValue>agent-001</premis:agentIdentifierValue>
            </premis:agentIdentifier>
            <premis:agentName>Microsoft Office Word</premis:agentName>
            <premis:agentType authority="premisAgentType" authorityURI="http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/preservation/agentType" valueURI="http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/preservation/agentType/sof">software</premis:agentType>
            <premis:linkingEventIdentifier>
              <premis:linkingEventIdentifierType>local</premis:linkingEventIdentifierType>
              <premis:linkingEventIdentifierValue>event-001</premis:linkingEventIdentifierValue>
            </premis:linkingEventIdentifier>
          </premis:agent>
        </mets:xmlData>
      </mets:mdWrap>
    </mets:md>
  

• Provenance metadata for creation of Presentation PPTX

  Provenance metadata section for PREMIS Event

    <mets:md ID="event-002" USE="PROVENANCE" MDID="agent-002">
      <mets:mdWrap MDTYPE="PREMIS:EVENT" MDTYPEVERSION="3.0">
        <mets:xmlData>
          <premis:event>
            <premis:eventIdentifier>
              <premis:eventIdentifierType>local</premis:eventIdentifierType>
              <premis:eventIdentifierValue>event-002</premis:eventIdentifierValue>
            </premis:eventIdentifier>
            <premis:eventType authority="premisEventType" authorityURI="http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/preservation/eventType" valueURI="http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/preservation/eventType/cre">creation</premis:eventType>
            <premis:eventDateTime>2023-09-15T23:02</premis:eventDateTime>
            <premis:eventDetailInformation>
              <premis:eventDetail>Object created with Microsoft Office Powerpoint</premis:eventDetail>
            </premis:eventDetailInformation>
            <premis:linkingAgentIdentifier>
              <premis:linkingAgentIdentifierType>local</premis:linkingAgentIdentifierType>
              <premis:linkingAgentIdentifierValue>agent-002</premis:linkingAgentIdentifierValue>
              <premis:linkingAgentRole authority="premisEventRelatedAgentRole" authorityURI="http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/preservation/eventRelatedAgentRole" valueURI="http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/preservation/eventRelatedAgentRole/exe">executing program</premis:linkingAgentRole>
            </premis:linkingAgentIdentifier>
          </premis:event>            
        </mets:xmlData>
      </mets:mdWrap>
    </mets:md>
  

  Provenance metadata section for PREMIS Agent

    <mets:md ID="agent-002" USE="PROVENANCE" MDID="event-002">
      <mets:mdWrap MDTYPE="PREMIS:AGENT" MDTYPEVERSION="3.0">
        <mets:xmlData>
          <premis:agent>
            <premis:agentIdentifier>
              <premis:agentIdentifierType>local</premis:agentIdentifierType>
              <premis:agentIdentifierValue>agent-002</premis:agentIdentifierValue>
            </premis:agentIdentifier>
            <premis:agentName>Microsoft Office Powerpoint</premis:agentName>
            <premis:agentType authority="premisAgentType" authorityURI="http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/preservation/agentType" valueURI="http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/preservation/agentType/sof">software</premis:agentType>
            <premis:linkingEventIdentifier>
              <premis:linkingEventIdentifierType>local</premis:linkingEventIdentifierType>
              <premis:linkingEventIdentifierValue>event-002</premis:linkingEventIdentifierValue>
            </premis:linkingEventIdentifier>
          </premis:agent>
        </mets:xmlData>
      </mets:mdWrap>
    </mets:md>
  

• Provenance metadata for creation of Handout PDF

  Provenance metadata section for PREMIS Event

    <mets:md ID="event-003" USE="PROVENANCE" MDID="agent-003">
      <mets:mdWrap MDTYPE="PREMIS:EVENT" MDTYPEVERSION="3.0">
        <mets:xmlData>
          <premis:event>
            <premis:eventIdentifier>
              <premis:eventIdentifierType>local</premis:eventIdentifierType>
              <premis:eventIdentifierValue>event-003</premis:eventIdentifierValue>
            </premis:eventIdentifier>
            <premis:eventType authority="premisEventType" authorityURI="http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/preservation/eventType" valueURI="http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/preservation/eventType/cre">creation</premis:eventType>
            <premis:eventDateTime>2023-09-19T16:09:15</premis:eventDateTime>
            <premis:eventDetailInformation>
              <premis:eventDetail>Object created from Microsoft Word for Windows</premis:eventDetail>
            </premis:eventDetailInformation>
            <premis:linkingAgentIdentifier>
              <premis:linkingAgentIdentifierType>local</premis:linkingAgentIdentifierType>
              <premis:linkingAgentIdentifierValue>agent-003</premis:linkingAgentIdentifierValue>
              <premis:linkingAgentRole authority="premisEventRelatedAgentRole" authorityURI="http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/preservation/eventRelatedAgentRole" valueURI="http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/preservation/eventRelatedAgentRole/exe">executing program</premis:linkingAgentRole>
            </premis:linkingAgentIdentifier>
          </premis:event>            
        </mets:xmlData>
      </mets:mdWrap>
    </mets:md>
  

  Provenance metadata section for PREMIS Agent

    <mets:md ID="agent-003" USE="PROVENANCE" MDID="event-003">
      <mets:mdWrap MDTYPE="PREMIS:AGENT" MDTYPEVERSION="3.0">
        <mets:xmlData>
          <premis:agent>
            <premis:agentIdentifier>
              <premis:agentIdentifierType>local</premis:agentIdentifierType>
              <premis:agentIdentifierValue>agent-003</premis:agentIdentifierValue>
            </premis:agentIdentifier>
            <premis:agentName>Microsoft Word</premis:agentName>
            <premis:agentType authority="premisAgentType" authorityURI="http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/preservation/agentType" valueURI="http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/preservation/agentType/sof">software</premis:agentType>
            <premis:linkingEventIdentifier>
              <premis:linkingEventIdentifierType>local</premis:linkingEventIdentifierType>
              <premis:linkingEventIdentifierValue>event-003</premis:linkingEventIdentifierValue>
            </premis:linkingEventIdentifier>
          </premis:agent>
        </mets:xmlData>
      </mets:mdWrap>
    </mets:md>
  

• Provenance metadata for migration of Paper PDF

  Provenance metadata section for PREMIS Event

    <mets:md ID="event-004" USE="PROVENANCE" MDID="agent-004">
      <mets:mdWrap MDTYPE="PREMIS:EVENT" MDTYPEVERSION="3.0">
        <mets:xmlData>
          <premis:event>
            <premis:eventIdentifier>
              <premis:eventIdentifierType>local</premis:eventIdentifierType>
              <premis:eventIdentifierValue>event-004</premis:eventIdentifierValue>
            </premis:eventIdentifier>
            <premis:eventType authority="premisEventType" authorityURI="http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/preservation/eventType" valueURI="http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/preservation/eventType/mig">migration</premis:eventType>
            <premis:eventDateTime>2023-11-01T19:52:59</premis:eventDateTime>
            <premis:eventDetailInformation>
              <premis:eventDetail>Object migrated from Microsoft Word for Windows to Acrobat PDF 1.4 - Portable Document Format</premis:eventDetail>
            </premis:eventDetailInformation>
            <premis:linkingAgentIdentifier>
              <premis:linkingAgentIdentifierType>local</premis:linkingAgentIdentifierType>
              <premis:linkingAgentIdentifierValue>agent-004</premis:linkingAgentIdentifierValue>
              <premis:linkingAgentRole authority="premisEventRelatedAgentRole" authorityURI="http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/preservation/eventRelatedAgentRole" valueURI="http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/preservation/eventRelatedAgentRole/exe">executing program</premis:linkingAgentRole>
            </premis:linkingAgentIdentifier>
          </premis:event>            
        </mets:xmlData>
      </mets:mdWrap>
    </mets:md>
  

  Provenance metadata section for PREMIS Agent

    <mets:md ID="agent-004" USE="PROVENANCE" MDID="event-004">
      <mets:mdWrap MDTYPE="PREMIS:AGENT" MDTYPEVERSION="3.0">
        <mets:xmlData>
          <premis:agent>
            <premis:agentIdentifier>
              <premis:agentIdentifierType>local</premis:agentIdentifierType>
              <premis:agentIdentifierValue>agent-004</premis:agentIdentifierValue>
            </premis:agentIdentifier>
            <premis:agentName>macOS Version 12.6.8 (Build 21G725) Quartz PDFContext</premis:agentName>
            <premis:agentType authority="premisAgentType" authorityURI="http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/preservation/agentType" valueURI="http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/preservation/agentType/sof">software</premis:agentType>
            <premis:linkingEventIdentifier>
              <premis:linkingEventIdentifierType>local</premis:linkingEventIdentifierType>
              <premis:linkingEventIdentifierValue>event-004</premis:linkingEventIdentifierValue>
            </premis:linkingEventIdentifier>
          </premis:agent>
        </mets:xmlData>
      </mets:mdWrap>
    </mets:md>
  

• Provenance metadata for migration of Presentation PDF

  Provenance metadata section for PREMIS Event

    <mets:md ID="event-005" USE="PROVENANCE" MDID="agent-005">
      <mets:mdWrap MDTYPE="PREMIS:EVENT" MDTYPEVERSION="3.0">
        <mets:xmlData>
          <premis:event>
            <premis:eventIdentifier>
              <premis:eventIdentifierType>local</premis:eventIdentifierType>
              <premis:eventIdentifierValue>event-005</premis:eventIdentifierValue>
            </premis:eventIdentifier>
            <premis:eventType authority="premisEventType" authorityURI="http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/preservation/eventType" valueURI="http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/preservation/eventType/mig">migration</premis:eventType>
            <premis:eventDateTime>2023-09-15T23:09:29</premis:eventDateTime>
            <premis:eventDetailInformation>
              <premis:eventDetail>Object migrated from Microsoft Powerpoint for Windows to Acrobat PDF 1.7 - Portable Document Format</premis:eventDetail>
            </premis:eventDetailInformation>
            <premis:linkingAgentIdentifier>
              <premis:linkingAgentIdentifierType>local</premis:linkingAgentIdentifierType>
              <premis:linkingAgentIdentifierValue>agent-005</premis:linkingAgentIdentifierValue>
              <premis:linkingAgentRole authority="premisEventRelatedAgentRole" authorityURI="http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/preservation/eventRelatedAgentRole" valueURI="http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/preservation/eventRelatedAgentRole/exe">executing program</premis:linkingAgentRole>
            </premis:linkingAgentIdentifier>
          </premis:event>            
        </mets:xmlData>
      </mets:mdWrap>
    </mets:md>
  

  Provenance metadata section for PREMIS Agent

    <mets:md ID="agent-005" USE="PROVENANCE" MDID="event-005">
      <mets:mdWrap MDTYPE="PREMIS:AGENT" MDTYPEVERSION="3.0">
        <mets:xmlData>
          <premis:agent>
            <premis:agentIdentifier>
              <premis:agentIdentifierType>local</premis:agentIdentifierType>
              <premis:agentIdentifierValue>agent-005</premis:agentIdentifierValue>
            </premis:agentIdentifier>
            <premis:agentName>Microsoft® PowerPoint® for Microsoft 365</premis:agentName>
            <premis:agentType authority="premisAgentType" authorityURI="http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/preservation/agentType" valueURI="http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/preservation/agentType/sof">software</premis:agentType>
            <premis:linkingEventIdentifier>
              <premis:linkingEventIdentifierType>local</premis:linkingEventIdentifierType>
              <premis:linkingEventIdentifierValue>event-005</premis:linkingEventIdentifierValue>
            </premis:linkingEventIdentifier>
          </premis:agent>
        </mets:xmlData>
      </mets:mdWrap>
    </mets:md>