Verify a record without handing over the archive.
Kettle is developing a public method for identifying record states, signing manifests, and recording changes. An institution can keep the source collection while other systems check the published record.
The method applies after processing, when the records have stable identities and citations.
Four steps from source to check.
A verifier compares a record with a published specification and an authorized public key. The check can run outside Kettle.
Institution
The institution or another authorized steward keeps the master source.
Address
The record state or processing event receives a stable ID.
Manifest
The institution or processor signs the record or collection manifest.
Verifier
A separate tool checks the ID, signature, and recorded history.
Limits: a signature cannot reveal a change made before Kettle received the file. It also says nothing about privacy, ownership, or whether a particular use is legal.
Keep corrections in the history.
OCR gets corrected. Metadata changes. A person is identified. A record is retracted. Each change can be recorded as a new event instead of replacing the earlier state.
The event records who made the change, when it happened, and which states it connects.
What works today.
Some pieces run inside Kettle now. The public specification and outside verifier still need to be finished.
Kettle assigns deterministic IDs inside the research system. An internal reference implementation handles signing and verification tests.
The versioned specification, schemas, test vectors, and independent verifier are in development.
Anyone should be able to run the check. Verification should not depend on access to a private Kettle database.
See the Technical page for component status and implementation notes.