behoudmetadata

Behoudmetadata is metadata that supports the long-term preservation of digital objects. It documents the origin, context, integrity, and preservation actions applied to an object to ensure continued accessibility and authenticity over time.

The purpose of behoudmetadata is threefold: to enable trustworthy access to preserved objects, to support accountability and audit trails, and to guide future preservation decisions. It typically covers provenance information (the object's history, original source, custody events), context and structure (relationships to other objects, classification, intellectual content), technical metadata (formats, software environments, hardware requirements, file characteristics), and preservation metadata (fixity data such as checksums, versioning, and records of preservation actions like migrations or format refreshes). Administrative metadata for governance, policy, rights, and preservation responsibilities is also commonly included.

Standards and practices in preservation metadata emphasize interoperability. The PREMIS (Preservation Metadata: Implementation Strategies) data model is a widely adopted standard that defines entities such as objects, events, and agents to capture preservation-related information. Preservation metadata is often packaged with digital objects using formats like METS, and aligned with the OAIS (Open Archival Information System) reference model. Metadata may be serialized in XML or RDF, and stored within repository systems to support search, audit, and decision-making.

Implementation considerations include deciding the appropriate granularity of metadata, ensuring consistency across migrations and system changes, and maintaining metadata quality and accessibility over time. Behoudmetadata is central to digital preservation programs, enabling long-term authenticity, reproducibility, and controlled access to preserved digital content.