Victorian Electronic Records Strategy


VERS STORY	STANDARD	ASSESSMENT	PROJECTS	DIGITAL ARCHIVE	TRAINING	TOOLKIT	PUBLICATIONS

Introduction

Standard
(Version 1)
  Specification 1
  Specification 2
  Specification 3

Standard
(Version 2)
  Specification 1
  Specification 2
  Specification 3
  Specification 4
  Specification 5
  Advice 9
  Advice 10
  Advice 11
  Advice 12
  Advice 13
  Advice 14

Home > Standard > Standard (Version 2) > Explanation

Management of Electronic Records
PROS 99/007
(Version 2)

The Victorian Electronic Records Strategy (VERS)

The Victorian Electronic Records Strategy (VERS) addresses the cost-effective, long-term, preservation of electronic records.

The structure and requirements of VERS are formally specified in the Standard for the Management of Electronic Records (PROS 99/007) and its five technical specifications. There are also six Advices that describe aspect of VERS. The relationship between the VERS Standard, the Specifications that support this Standard, and the Introduction and Advices that explain VERS is shown below.

These documents have the following purposes:

Management of Electronic Records. This document is the Standard itself and is primarily concerned with conformance. The technical requirements of the Standard are contained in five Specifications. PDF Version (768 KB) / HTML Version
Introduction to VERS. This document provides background information on the goals and the VERS approach to preservation. Nothing in this document imposes any requirements on agencies. PDF Version (930 KB) / HTML Version
Specifications. These five documents provide the technical requirements that support the Standard. Agencies must conform to the mandatory requirements of the specifications, must conform to the conditional requirements of the specifications if the appropriate conditions are satisfied, and may conform to the optional requirements. Some optional requirements are strongly recommended and these are noted as such.

Specification 1: System Requirements for Preserving Electronic Records. This document specifies the overall functions that a recordkeeping system must perform to preserve electronic records for a substantial period. PDF Version (606 KB) / HTML Version
Specification 2: VERS Metadata Scheme. This document specifies the metadata that a recordkeeping system must hold to conform to VERS. PDF Version (1010 KB) / HTML Version
Specification 3: VERS Standard Electronic Record Format. This document contains the technical definition of the VERS Encapsulated Object (VEO) format; the mandatory long-term format for records. PDF Version (621 KB) / HTML Version
Specification 4: VERS Long Term Preservation Formats. This document lists the data formats that PROV accepts as suitable for representing documents for a significant period. PDF Version (362 KB) / HTML Version
Specification 5: Export of Electronic Records to PROV. This document lists the approved media and mechanisms by which PROV will accept an export of electronic records. PDF Version (375 KB) / HTML Version

Advices. These six documents provide background information, explanatory material, and examples in support of the Standard and associated Specifications. None of the information in the Advices imposes any requirement on agencies.

Advice 10 on Specification 4 (System Requirements for Preserving Electronic Records). PDF Version (901 KB) / HTML Version
Advice 11 on Specification 2 (VERS Metadata Scheme). PDF Version (978 KB) / HTML Version
Advice 12 on Specification 3 (VERS Standard Electronic Record Format). PDF Version (1057 KB) / HTML Version
Advice 13 on Specification 4 (VERS Long Term Preservation Formats). PDF Version (361 KB) / HTML Version
Advice 14 on Specification 5 (Export of Electronic Records to PROV). PDF Version (792 KB) / HTML Version

Relationship between Specifications. A second view of the relationship between the five Specifications is shown in the following diagram:

Specification 1 (System Requirements for Preserving Electronic Records) details the overall requirements on a recordkeeping system for preserving electronic records over a significant period. Amongst other requirements, the recordkeeping system must be capable of exporting the records in a standardised format.

The overall features of this standardised format are defined in Specification 3 (VERS Standard Electronic Record Format), but some details are defined in two other Specifications. Specification 2 (VERS Metadata Scheme) defines the meaning and allowed values of the metadata that appears in a record. Specification 4 (VERS Long Term Preservation Formats) defines the formats in which the record content must be expressed.

Specification 5 (Export of Electronic Records to PROV) defines the mechanisms by which records are exported to PROV.

Relation to Version 1 of this Standard. This version of the VERS Standard completely replaces Version 1 of the Standard. Version 2 is identical in its base requirements, but makes those requirements clearer and more explicit. It also contains a number of conditional and optional extensions to Version 1.

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