PREMIS Implementation at the RAC

Historically, there have been two types of rights bases applied to objects ingested into the digital preservation system at the RAC: those governing access (the Donor or Policy types of Other) and those governing use (Copyright). In the RAC’s implementation of PREMIS going forward:

  • All digital objects ingested into the digital preservation system must have copyright information expressed in PREMIS. This includes cases where the copyright status is unknown or when the object is in the public domain.
  • All digital objects ingested into the digital preservation system must have a PREMIS rights statement detailing any conditions which govern access to the object. The preferred rights basis for this PREMIS entity is Donor, and contains information from a donor agreement. However, in certain circumstances a Policy basis should be used instead of or in addition to a Donor basis. If there is no donor agreement governing the digital object, the rights basis Policy must be used. Additionally, the rights basis Policy should be used in addition to the rights basis Donor if a RAC Policy places restrictions on the object beyond what is outlined in a donor agreement.

Below is detailed information about each semantic unit in the PREMIS Rights entity. It includes the description provided by the Data Dictionary, as well as notes on value constraints as defined by the Data Dictionary, and, where applicable, Archivematica and local policy.

Controlled Vocabularies and Standards

Note that, as recommended by the Data Dictionary and enforced by Archivematica, all dates should be expressed according to ISO 8601. From the Data Dictionary: Use “open” for an open-ended term of grant. Omit endDate if the ending date is unknown or the permission statement applies to many objects with different end dates. Additionally, statute and copyright jurisdiction values should be taken from ISO 3166 Country Codes.

Act (rightsGranted)

An act should be only used if there is a restriction on the dissemination or publication of the digital objects. The default assumption of the RAC’s systems is that restrictions are explicitly documented, but permissions are assumed. Additionally, rights bases will be evaluated by the RAC’s systems in the following order of priority:

  1. Policy
  2. Donor
  3. Copyright

The rights bases Statute, License, and Other (where Other is not defined as Policy or Donor) are evaluated last, and are currently not in active use at the RAC.

The above order allows the RAC to selectively implement documented policy decisions which provide additional restrictions not articulated in donor agreements. For example, a restriction of “disallow” from a Policy basis would supersede a restriction of “conditional” from a Copyright basis.

While corresponding information about the donor agreement or policy may be relevant to include in a rights basis note, a permission/restriction should not be created if the permission/restriction expired before ingest into the digital preservation system.

Act

PREMIS Rule: The action the preservation repository is allowed to take.

Values:

  • disseminate: object is open for research, and associated metadata is available in discovery system
  • publish: create a copy or version for use outside the preservation repository

Above values are used in the Archivematica/ArchivesSpace DIP Upload integration and definitions are local. In past practice at the RAC, a permission/restriction flowing from Copyright with the Act “publish” related to whether the RAC could publish the digital object online, and a permission/restriction flowing from Donor or Policy with the Act “disseminate” related to whether the RAC could provide any access to the digital object. Note that the PREMIS Data Dictionary suggests the following values and corresponding definitions, which are not in use at the RAC:

  • replicate: make an exact copy
  • migrate: make a copy identical in content in a different file format
  • modify: make a version different in content
  • use: read without copying or modifying
  • disseminate: create a copy or version for use outside the preservation repository
  • delete: remove from the repository

Restriction (restriction)

PREMIS Rule: A condition or limitation on the act.

Values:

  • allow
  • disallow
  • conditional

Above values are defined and enforced by Archivematica. Note: If the user selects “Allow,” Archivematica automatically creates a termOfGrant semantic unit to capture information about the start and end dates of the grant; if either “Disallow” or “Conditional” is selected, Archivematica creates a termOfRestriction semantic unit instead.

Term of Grant/Restriction (termOfGrant OR termOfRestriction)

PREMIS Rule: The time period for the permissions or restriction granted.

Local Rule: The start date is generally the same date as the beginning of the rights basis which this act is connected to, and/or the accession (born digital) or creation (digitized) date of the digital object. The end date is when the specified act expires. This may be unknown (i.e., blank) or open. For digitized materials, permissions/restrictions apply to the digital object, not the original material. Therefore, start dates should not be before the creation of the digital object.

Grant/Restriction Note (rightsGrantedNote)

PREMIS Rule: Additional information about the permissions or restrictions granted if a textual description is needed for further explanation. This semantic unit may include a statement about risk assessment, for example, when a repository is not certain about what permissions have been granted.

Local Rule: This note must be used if restriction is “conditional.” If the restriction is “allow” or “disallow,” the note should only be used for more explanation on the act (e.g., a statement about risk assessment). This note should not be purely duplicative of the machine-readable portions of the semantic unit (e.g., “Open without restrictions” or “Closed until 2025”). Additionally, this note should not contain information about permissions/restrictions that have expired, especially if this information is included in the rights basis note (e.g., “The twenty-year embargo has expired for these materials”).

PREMIS Rule: A coded designation for the copyright status of the object at the time the Rights statement was recorded. Mandatory.

Values:

  • copyrighted: Under copyright.
  • public domain: In the public domain and may be used without copyright restriction.
  • unknown: Copyright status of the resource is unknown.

The above values are from the controlled vocabulary suggested by the Data Dictionary and implemented by Archivematica.

PREMIS Rule: The country whose copyright laws apply. Mandatory.

Values:

  • us

The US would be the value for all current RAC use cases.

PREMIS Rule: The date that the copyright status recorded in copyrightStatus was determined.

Local Rule: This is generally the date of creation of the PREMIS rights statement.

PREMIS Rule: Additional information about the copyright status of the object.

Local Rule: Include more information about the copyright status (e.g., whether the work was published or unpublished) and information about copyright included in the donor agreement. For example:

Work for hire - copyright term 120 years from date of creation. Copyright held by the Rockefeller Foundation.

PREMIS Rule: A designation used to identify documentation supporting the specified Rights granted according to copyright uniquely within the repository system. This semantic unit is intended to refer to a document detailing the granting of permission when the Rights basis is copyright.

Local Rule: As the RAC does not currently use identifiers for donor agreements or internal policies, this semantic unit is not used at this time. This may change in the future. (Note that this is a container, and elements within the container have been omitted as we are not using them currently.)

PREMIS Rule: The date range during which the particular copyright applies or is applied to the content. This is distinct from termOfGrant, which applies to a particular act expressed in rightsGranted and may differ from the period of time the license, statute, or other basis applies to the content.

Local Rule: When copyright status is “copyrighted,” or “unknown,” the start date is the creation date of the content (i.e., the creation date of the original item in the case of digitized material). When copyright status is “copyrighted,” the end date is the date that copyright expires. If an item is in the public domain because copyright expired before ingest into the repository, record the date that it passed into the public domain. If an item is in the public domain at the time of its creation, record the date of creation for the item.

Basis: Policy (otherRightsInformation)

Policy Documentation Identifier (otherRightsDocumentationIdentifier)

PREMIS Rule: A designation used to uniquely identify documentation supporting the specified Rights within the repository system, when the basis for these Rights is something other than copyright, license or statute.

Local Rule: As the RAC does not currently use identifiers for donor agreements or internal policies, this semantic unit is not used at this time. This may change in the future. (Note that this element is a container, and sub-elements within it have been omitted as we are not using them currently.)

Policy Applicable Dates (otherRightsApplicableDates)

PREMIS Rule: The date range during which the particular rights applies or applied to the content. This is distinct from termOfGrant, which applies to a particular act expressed in rightsGranted and may differ from the period of time the license, statute or other basis applies to the content.

Local Rule: Policy start date should be the date the policy was enacted. If unknown, use 1974, the year the RAC was founded. Policy end date is when the policy itself ends, not its application to the content (that is recorded in the associated act); therefore, the end date is “open” in most cases.

Policy Note (otherRightsNote)

PREMIS Rule: Additional information about the rights of the object.

Local Rule: Include information about the policy that applies to the object. For example:

*Personnel files (and/or personnel-like records) are restricted to ensure personal privacy and restrict access to materials generally considered confidential between an individual and his or her employer. Personnel records include: employment applications, resumes/CVs, letters of appointment, personal references, salary or withholding statements, performance evaluations, and other correspondence discussing general or particular circumstances of an individual’s employment or job performance. Personnel records also often include personal injury and/or workers compensation insurance records or claims and pension documents. Records gathered in the course of conducting an executive search, or in filling a professional position, may also be restricted. *

Basis: Donor (otherRightsInformation)

Donor Documentation Identifier (otherRightsDocumentationIdentifier)

PREMIS Rule: A designation used to uniquely identify documentation supporting the specified Rights within the repository system, when the basis for these Rights is something other than copyright, license or statute.

Local Rule: As the RAC does not currently use identifiers for donor agreements or internal policies, this semantic unit is not used at this time. This may change in the future. (Note that this element is a container, and sub-elements within it have been omitted as we are not using them currently.)

Donor Agreement Applicable Dates (otherRightsApplicableDates)

PREMIS Rule: The date range during which the particular rights applies or applied to the content. This is distinct from termOfGrant, which applies to a particular act expressed in rightsGranted and may differ from the period of time the license, statute or other basis applies to the content.

Local Rule: Record the start date of the donor agreement. Generally, RAC donor agreements apply in perpetuity; in these cases the end date should be recorded as “open.” Otherwise, record the end date specified in the agreement.

Donor Agreement Note (otherRightsNote)

PREMIS Rule: Additional information about the rights of the object.

Local Rule: Include the portion(s) of the donor agreement that pertain to access and use of the object. If restrictions apply to a certain type of record covered by this rights statement (e.g., board meeting minutes are restricted for 10 years), include this information.

Basis: License (licenseInformation)

License Documentation Identifier (licenseDocumentationIdentifier)

PREMIS Rule: A designation used to uniquely identify documentation supporting the specified rights granted by license within the repository system. This semantic unit is intended to refer to a document recording the granting of permission when the rights basis is license. For some repositories this may be a formal signed contract with a customer. If the granting agreement is verbal, this could point to a memo by the repository documenting the verbal agreement. The identifier is optional because the agreement may not be stored in a repository with an identifier. In the case of a verbal agreement, for example, the entire agreement may be included or described in the licenseTerms.

Local Rule: As the RAC does not currently use identifiers for donor agreements or internal policies, this semantic unit is not used at this time. This may change in the future. (Note that this element is a container, and sub-elements within it have been omitted.)

License Terms (licenseTerms)

PREMIS Rule: Text describing the license or agreement by which permission was granted. This could contain the actual text of the license or agreement or a paraphrase or summary.

License Note (licenseNote)

PREMIS Rule: Additional information about the license. Information about the terms of the license should go in licenseTerms. licenseNotes is intended for other types of information related to the license, such as contact persons, action dates, or interpretations. The note may also indicate the location of the license, for example, if it is available online or embedded in the object itself.

License Applicable Dates (licenseApplicableDates)

PREMIS Rule: The date range during which the license applies or is applied to the content. This is distinct from termOfGrant, which applies to a particular act expressed in rightsGranted and may differ from the period of time the license, statute or other basis applies to the content.

Basis: Statute (statuteInformation)

Statute Jurisdiction (statuteJurisdiction)

PREMIS Rule: The country or other political body enacting the statute. The connection between the object and the rights granted is based on jurisdiction. Values should be taken from a controlled vocabulary. Mandatory.

Statute Citation (statuteCitation)

PREMIS Rule: An identifying designation for the statute. Mandatory.

Local Rule: Follow guidelines such as Introduction to Basic Legal Citation.

Statute Determination Date (statuteInformationDeterminationDate)

PREMIS Rule: The date that the determination was made that the statute authorized the permission(s) noted. The permission in question may be the subject of some interpretation. These assessments are made within a specific context and at a specific time. At another time the context, and therefore the assessment, could change. For this reason it can be important to record the date of the decision.

Statute Note (statuteNote)

PREMIS Rule: Additional information about the statute.

Local Rule: If necessary, this should contain information not recorded elsewhere in the basis or associated act about the statue’s applicability to the content. If including text of the statute itself, or other external text, link to it using statuteDocumentationIdentifier.

Statute Documentation Identifier (statuteDocumentationIdentifier)

PREMIS Rule: A designation used to uniquely identify documentation supporting the specified rights granted by statute within the repository system. This semantic unit is intended to refer to a document detailing the granting of permission when the rights basis is statute. If repeated, use statuteDocumentationIdentifierRole to distinguish the role of the given documentation. For a particular law one might want to link to various sources of documentation, e.g. the law publication itself (role: law), the application decree that enforces it (role: application decree) or some addition text refining the law by showing a real-world verdict (role: case law).

Documentation Identifier Type (statuteDocumentationIdentifierType)

PREMIS Rule: A designation of the domain within which the statute documentation identifier is unique.

Documentation Identifier Value (statuteDocumentationIdentifierValue)

PREMIS Rule: The value of the statuteDocumentationIdentifier.

Documentation Role (statuteDocumentationRole)

PREMIS Rule: A value indicating the purpose or expected use of the documentation being identified. This information distinguishes the purpose of the supporting documentation especially when there are multiple documentation identifiers.

Statute Applicable Dates (statuteApplicableDates)

PREMIS Rule: The date range during which the statute applies or is applied to the content. This is distinct from termOfGrant, which applies to a particular act expressed in rightsGranted and may differ from the period of time the license, statute or other basis applies to the content.