| XML Element Name | naa:AgentType |
| Definition | A category which identifies the role and responsibilities of a particular agent. |
| Purpose | This element identifies the role played by a particular agent.This element also provides consistency, through the use of assigned values, in the description of recordkeeping roles and responsibilities across the Victorian public sector. |
| Obligation | Mandatory |
| Repeatable | Yes |
| NAA Metadata | Yes |
| Assigned Values | Value Name | Definition |
| Record Creator | The corporate entity that makes, receives and accumulates the records in the course of its business. The corporate entity to which the record belongs. |
| Document Author | In VERS we suggest that the term 'Record Author' be used instead of 'Document Author' as a VERS record also contains Documents and has a Document Agent element (M116). The corporate entity, organisational element and/or individual primarily responsible for the content of the record. Equates to the term 'Originator' used in some environments. |
| Record Author | (VERS term) The corporate entity, organisational element and/or individual primarily responsible for the content of the record. Equates to the term 'Originator' used in some environments. |
| Originator | (VERS term) The corporate entity, organisational element and/or individual that originated the transaction documented in the record. |
| Responder | (VERS term) The corporate entity, organisational element and/or individual that responded to the transaction documented in the record. |
| Transactor | The individual(s), elements or entities, other than the Record Creator, involved in the act or transaction documented by the record. If it is desirable to distinguish between the originator of the transaction and the responder, it is suggested that 'Originator' and 'Responder' be used. |
| Primary Recipient | (VERS term) An individual or organisation that is a primary recipient of this record (e.g. the 'to' list of an email) |
| Copy Recipient | (VERS term) An individual or organisation that is a secondary (copy) recipient of this record (e.g. the 'cc' list of an email) |
| Blind Copy Recipient | (VERS term) An individual or organisation that is a secondary (copy) recipient of this record that other recipients do not know about (e.g. the 'bcc' list of an email) |
| Registrar | The individual responsible for assigning the record to the recordkeeping system (i.e. registering the record into the recordkeeping system). |
| Action Officer | Deprecated; agents should be described according to the actions they have performed upon the record.
An individual who accesses or makes use of a record in the course of his/her work. Unlike other Assigned Values for this subelement, this value does not generally denote any particular role and is meant to be used primarily with element M71 USE HISTORY.
Agencies may choose to allow the value 'Action Officer' instead of 'Transactor' as the Agent Type of an individual involved in a transaction (see also subelement M56), and instead of 'Registrar' as the Agent Type of an individual who registers a record into a recordkeeping system (see also subelement M57). |
| Publisher | The corporate entity responsible for making a record publicly available. |
| Authority | The corporate entity, organisational element and/or individual who is responsible for authorising some action on the record. |
| Records Manager | Deprecated; agents should be described according to the actions they have performed upon the record.
An individual responsible for administering and controlling records on a day-to-day basis. |
| Preservation Officer | Deprecated; agents should be described according to the actions they have performed upon the record.
An individual responsible for ensuring the continuing preservation of, and access to, records for as long as they have value. |
| System Administrator | Deprecated; agents should be described according to the actions they have performed upon the record.
An individual responsible for the day-to-day running of the overall computer system of which the recordkeeping system is a part (including system backup and access control). |
| Access Examiner | Deprecated; agents should be described according to the actions they have performed upon the record.
An individual who examines records to identify any exempt information they may contain. |
| Auditor | Deprecated; agents should be described according to the actions they have performed upon the record.
An individual, either internal or external to the agency, who conducts a recordkeeping audit or an IT system audit of the recordkeeping system to determine agency compliance with certain standards. |
| Security Officer | Deprecated; agents should be described according to the actions they have performed upon the record.
An individual responsible for promulgating and enforcing security policies, and for investigating breaches of security. |
| [other] | Other agency-defined value. |
| Default Value | - |
| Attributes | Attribute Name/Type | Definition |
| vers:scheme CDATA | (Optional) A reference to the scheme that controls the values of this element. Would normally only be present if there is a published scheme that can be referred to by a viewer. |
| Comments | This element distinguishes between different types of agents.
All aggregations of records, including single records, shall have a Record Creator and a Registrar (which may be the same as the Record Creator or Document Author).
In the NAA metadata scheme instances of this element can be used to describe agents that use or perform actions on records. These actions or uses are listed in M54 DATE, M66 MANAGEMENT HISTORY, M71 USE HISTORY, and M76 PRESERVATION HISTORY. This is why there are agent types documenting roles such as 'Action Officer', 'Records Manager' and 'System Administrator'.
In VERS we recommend that agents be explicitly described in the action or use (i.e. M70 EVENT DESCRIPTION, M75 USE DESCRIPTION, or M80 ACTION DESCRIPTION), and that M12 AGENT is only used to document significant actors in the life of the record (e.g. the record creator).
For this reason VERS has extended the list of element values that can be used to described the people or organisations involved in the transaction. Record Author should be used where the record is created primarily by one person. Where the record documents a transaction, the terms 'Originator' and 'Recipient' can be used to distinguished who initiated the transaction and who responded. Where the record is of a communication, 'Record Author' can be used to indicate the sender, and 'Primary Recipient' can be used to indicate the main recipients, and 'Copy Recipient' or 'Blind Copy Recipient' can be used to indicate those to whom copies were sent. The distinction between 'Copy Recipient' and 'Blind Copy Recipient' is the same as the 'Cc' and 'Bcc' email address lists; that is, when the communication is received, none of the 'Blind Copy Recipients' will appear in the address lists.
The above list of assigned values may be extended by agencies to meet specific business requirements. |
| Related Elements | M54 Date
M66 Management History
M71 Use History
M76 Preservation History |
