Randy

Are you suggesting that document integrity is an absolute value -- either documents have this  or they do not?  Or am I misreading your recent postings.

If this is your position I would suggest that it is an interesting theoretical construct but one of limited use in the world in which I live.  It seems to me that anything including documents can be evidence (whether they are strong or weak evidence is another matter).  This is an issue that confronts museum curators establishing provenance, historians seeking evidence in support of their position, and attorneys and judges on a day to day basis.

It may be useful to remember that we are not seeking absolute truth or validity in the Platonic sense (unless there are theologians reading this note) but that we are seeking to support the self interested positions of our employers.  We largely operate within the confines of a rule based system and like any system it has its own inherent weakness. One may find nearly identical cases where US Courts came to different conclusions about document authentication with nearly identical set of circumstances.

It is my observation (not a product of research) but simply observation that records professionals have an inherent aesthetic prejudice toward an orderly universe. Often this meets the needs of their employers -- though not all the time.


David Gaynon
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