CA There are many challenges to devising metadata schema to manage records over time. Continuum thinking provides a conceptual framework to identify these problems.
Phrases
<P1> It is clear from the SPIRT Project definition that recordkeeping and archival control systems have always been about capturing and managing recordkeeping metadata. (p.30) <P2> One of the keys to understanding the Project's approach to what metadata needs to be captured, persistently linked to documentation of social and business activity, and managed through space and time, lies in the continuum view of records. In continuum thinking, [records] are seen not as 'passive objects to described retrospectively,' but as agents of action, 'active participants in business processes and technologies.'" (p.37)
CA There is great potential in developing a national standard for the control of records that combines traditional recordkeeping practices with continuum-based thinking and cutting-edge metadata.
Conclusions
RQ One challenge is integrating item-level metadata with system-level metadata. Linking old and new archival descriptive systems should be done as seamlessly as possible, since retrofitting would be too expensive. Another important area is linking contextual metadata to records whenever they are used outside their domain in order to provide "external validation" (p.17) <warrant>
