Define the release decision
A museum registrar has collections-system exports, ownership deeds, acquisition records, transfer records and custody acknowledgements spread across email, downloads and paper folders. The archive owner must define the authoritative provenance packet before encryption.
Identify the acquisition period, restricted extract purpose, authoritative provenance records and every person allowed to receive the packet.
Run the control sequence
- 01Name the acquisition period, source system, extract purpose, accountable owner and approved recipients.
- 02Inventory the requested attachments without copying ownership details into the manifest.
- 03Separate authoritative evidence from working notes, duplicates, blank scans and unrelated personal files.
- 04Record file name, source, date, version and expected retention trigger.
- 05Confirm which fields the approved recipient requires and which remain under the museum registrar’s control.
Preserve enough evidence
Record the provenance packet identifier, acquisition review, source device or system, export date, manifest, responsible custodian, authorized recipients, key location, encryption environment, recovery result, retention rule and next review date. Do not put passwords, recovery secrets or unnecessary ownership details in the decision record.
Keep the manifest, custodian, approved recipient, key-separation decision, restore result and retention owner together without copying ownership details into the record.
Keep surrounding controls visible
Encryption does not determine ownership and cultural-property duties, title validation, artifact attribution, consent, recipient authority or whether an authorized recipient will accept an attachment.
Provenance-export preparation can create extra copies on tablets, laptops, removable media, synchronization folders and recipient devices. The archive owner must address those copies separately and verify the current software release before relying on product behavior. Collections teams should also distinguish documentary confidentiality from physical-object security: encrypting provenance files does not protect an artifact, preserve chain of custody, establish title or resolve a restitution claim. Record who can approve an export, who can authorize access and who can change the collections-system master record.
Questions to ask
Should the archive password travel with the provenance packet?
No. Send the archive and its credential through separate approved channels, and verify the authorized recipient before release.
Does encryption make a provenance packet accurate or authorized?
No. Encryption restricts file access; it does not establish legal title, provenance authenticity, donor or seller consent, recipient authority or ownership and cultural-property duties.
Primary references
References support specific controls and do not imply endorsement.