The PROV API currently returns 10,147,740 results.
The API includes information about a number of different entities described in the PROV Archival Control Model.
The entity and category fields tell you what sort of data you're dealing with. The charts below use facet counts from the API to find the number of results for each value in these fields.
Entity¶
Top-level conceptual entities defined by the PROV's PROV Archival Control Model
Category¶
A more fine-grained grouping of the descriptive entities used in PROV data – the top-level Record entity is sub-divided into Series, Consignment, Item, and Image
Functions¶
The function entity in PROV’s ACM represents the major responsibilities of Victorian Government that may be managed by one or more agencies over time. Applying this entity helps to:
- group together various records with the same administrative record context
- links records to their provenance and complementary information.
— see the PROV Archival Control Model
There are 322 functions.
Count of agencies by function¶
Agencies are responsible for performing government functions. This table shows which functions are most frequently assigned to agencies.
| entity_id | function | total_agencies |
|---|---|---|
| VF382 | Educational institutions | 422 |
| VF397 | Municipalities | 129 |
| VF418 | Water supply | 109 |
| VF381 | Courts | 60 |
| VF416 | Water and sewerage authorities | 51 |
| VF125 | Health, public | 50 |
| VF128 | Health, mental | 37 |
| VF122 | Rural water supply | 26 |
| VF28 | Cemeteries | 25 |
| VF11 | Ports and harbours | 21 |
| VF24 | Geological survey | 21 |
| VF19 | Education | 19 |
| VF47 | Electric light and power | 19 |
| VF229 | Research institutes | 18 |
| VF30 | Forests | 18 |
| VF249 | Intellectual disability services | 17 |
| VF286 | Agent-general and trade commissioners | 17 |
| VF175 | Aboriginal affairs | 16 |
| VF220 | Economic development | 16 |
| VF230 | Fisheries, commercial licences | 16 |
Agencies¶
The agent entity in PROV’s ACM represents a Victorian Government agency—an administrative unit which has or had responsibility for the provision of at least one aspect of government administration. This entity helps to provide a description of a record’s context, namely who created the records and for what purpose.
— see the PROV Archival Control Model
There are 3,275 agencies.
Count of agencies by decade¶
This chart shows the number of agencies whose life dates overlap with each decade from 1830.
Count of functions by agency (top 20)¶
Agencies perform functions. This table shows which agencies are responsible for the most functions.
| agency_id | agency_title | total_functions |
|---|---|---|
| VA475 | Chief Secretary's Department | 69 |
| VA538 | Department of Crown Lands and Survey | 34 |
| VA669 | Public Works Department (previously the Department of the Commissioner of Public Works) | 29 |
| VA1039 | Department of Premier and Cabinet | 25 |
| VA3970 | Department of Human Services | 25 |
| VA5037 | Department of Health and Human Services | 25 |
| VA3972 | Department of Natural Resources and the Environment | 24 |
| VA856 | Colonial Secretary's Office | 24 |
| VA430 | Department of Property and Services | 23 |
| VA5251 | Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions | 23 |
| VA5034 | Department of Economic Development, Jobs, Transport and Resources | 22 |
| VA5285 | Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action | 22 |
| VA3004 | Department of Conservation and Environment | 21 |
| VA3092 | Department of Health and Community Services | 21 |
| VA473 | Superintendent, Port Phillip District | 21 |
| VA5284 | Department of Jobs, Skills, Industry and Regions | 21 |
| VA1034 | Department of Conservation, Forests and Lands | 20 |
| VA3097 | Department of Conservation and Natural Resources | 20 |
| VA2633 | Department of Community Services (also known as Community Services Victoria) | 19 |
| VA3016 | Department of Finance (previously known as Ministry of Finance 1991-1992) | 19 |
Count of series by agency (top 20)¶
Agencies create and manage series. This chart shows the agencies that have created the most series.
| agency_id | agency_title | total_series |
|---|---|---|
| VA538 | Department of Crown Lands and Survey | 1,254 |
| VA2876 | Victorian Railways (also Victorian Railways Commissioners 1883-1973, Victorian Railways Board 1973-1983) | 291 |
| VA714 | Education Department | 255 |
| VA865 | Department of the Treasurer (also known as Treasury and Treasurer's Office) | 255 |
| VA669 | Public Works Department (previously the Department of the Commissioner of Public Works) | 190 |
| VA2549 | Supreme Court of Victoria | 189 |
| VA511 | Melbourne (Town 1842-1847; City 1847-ct) | 185 |
| VA475 | Chief Secretary's Department | 178 |
| VA1002 | State Electricity Commission of Victoria I (previously known as the Electricity Commissioners, 1919 to 1921) | 174 |
| VA2984 | Public Transport Corporation | 123 |
| VA2694 | Melbourne and Metropolitan Tramways Board | 121 |
| VA852 | Royal Mint, Melbourne Branch | 115 |
| VA1044 | Metropolitan Transit Authority | 109 |
| VA1048 | The Royal Melbourne Hospital (Melbourne Hospital 1841 - 1935; The Amalgamated Melbourne and Essendon Hospitals 1986 - 1989) | 109 |
| VA683 | Public Record Office [also known as Public Record Office Victoria from c.1996] | 107 |
| VA856 | Colonial Secretary's Office | 103 |
| VA862 | Office of the Registrar-General and the Office of Titles (known as Land Victoria 2001 - 2014; Land Use Victoria 2014 - ct.) | 99 |
| VA913 | Public Library of Victoria | 97 |
| VA2266 | Closer Settlement Board (previously known as Lands Purchase and Management Board 1905-1918) | 94 |
| VA2799 | Melbourne Harbor Trust Commissioners | 94 |
Series¶
Record Series: a group of records which are recorded or maintained by the same agency (or agencies) and which:
- are in the same numerical, alphabetical, chronological or other identifiable sequence;
- or result from the same accumulation or filing process.
— see the PROV Archival Control Model
There are 17,136 series.
Count of series by field¶
Count of series by decade¶
This chart displays the number of series whose start and end dates overlap with each decade since 1830.
Count of items by series (top 20)¶
Series contain items. This table shows which series contain the most items.
| series_id | series_title | total_items |
|---|---|---|
| VPRS28 | Probate and Administration Files | 1,430,364 |
| VPRS7591 | Wills | 944,514 |
| VPRS267 | Civil Case Files | 458,736 |
| VPRS24 | Inquest Deposition Files | 221,147 |
| VPRS17379 | Probate and Administration Files (CourtView) | 218,936 |
| VPRS3183 | Town Clerk's Correspondence Files II [MCC Series 120] | 200,094 |
| VPRS17865 | Certified Plans of Subdivision - Lodged Plan (LP) series | 140,340 |
| VPRS5357 | Land Selection And Correspondence Files | 137,380 |
| VPRS932 | Trading Company Registration Files | 128,333 |
| VPRS17075 | Register Book of Crown Lease Titles | 117,202 |
| VPRS10010 | Body Cards | 110,474 |
| VPRS460 | Applications for Certificates of Title | 74,409 |
| VPRS626 | Land Selection Files by Land District, Sections 19 and 20 Land Act 1869 | 66,793 |
| VPRS6008 | General Correspondence Files, Annual Single Number Systems | 61,773 |
| VPRS30 | Criminal Trial Briefs | 61,616 |
| VPRS640 | Central Inward Primary Schools Correspondence | 61,342 |
| VPRS18870 | Application Search Notes | 57,650 |
| VPRS19093 | Application Examiner's Notes | 50,370 |
| VPRS3686 | Pre-Metric Building Plans | 47,558 |
| VPRS8350 | Bills of Sale Filed | 43,923 |
Items¶
Record Item: a discrete element [of] records managed within a ‘Series’. An Item represents a part of a recordkeeping system or a logical or convenient grouping of records. It may represent one record or multiple records such as a group of folios fastened together to form a file, a group of electronic files aggregated in a folder, or a single volume.
— see the PROV Archival Control Model
There are 6,337,966 items.
Count of items by field¶
Format¶
Indicates whether an item is in physical or digital format
Record Form¶
Describes the physical format of an item
Location¶
Indicates where the item is held – values are not exclusive, so an item can be Online and in North Melbourne
Rights Status¶
Indicates whether an items's contents and metadata are available for public access
Count of items by decade¶
This chart displays the number of items whose date range overlaps with each decade since 1830.
Digitised items¶
925,613 items have been digitised (14.60% of total items).
Count of digitised items by decade¶
This chart displays the number of digitised items whose date range overlaps with each decade since 1830.
Count of digitised items by series (top 20)¶
This table shows which series contain the most digitised items.
| series_id | series_title | total_items | items_digitised | percent_digitised |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VPRS7591 | Wills | 944,514 | 352,759 | 37.35% |
| VPRS28 | Probate and Administration Files | 1,430,364 | 305,437 | 21.35% |
| VPRS24 | Inquest Deposition Files | 221,147 | 125,164 | 56.60% |
| VPRS283 | Divorce Case Files, Melbourne | 35,072 | 19,568 | 55.79% |
| VPRS19 | Inward Registered Correspondence | 20,928 | 18,884 | 90.23% |
| VPRS14517 | Negatives of Photographs [Publications Branch] | 18,283 | 18,184 | 99.46% |
| VPRS12800 | Photographic Collection: Railway Negatives: Alpha-numeric Systems | 12,332 | 12,102 | 98.13% |
| VPRS12903 | Photographic Negatives: Railways: Box Systems | 11,529 | 11,093 | 96.22% |
| VPRS8168 | Historic Plan Collection | 11,575 | 10,932 | 94.44% |
| VPRS3183 | Town Clerk's Correspondence Files II [MCC Series 120] | 200,094 | 6,461 | 3.23% |
| VPRS5714 | Land Selection Files, Section 12 Closer Settlement Act 1938 [including obsolete and top numbered Closer Settlement and WW1 Discharged Soldier Settlement files] | 21,146 | 5,824 | 27.54% |
| VPRS8357 | Photographic Collection | 5,572 | 5,269 | 94.56% |
| VPRS18782 | Hydrographic Survey Plans | 5,227 | 4,383 | 83.85% |
| VPRS944 | Inward Passenger Lists (Australian Ports) | 3,349 | 3,110 | 92.86% |
| VPRS10742 | Photographic Negatives [1956 Melbourne Olympics Photograph Collection] | 2,765 | 2,749 | 99.42% |
| VPRS2869 | Landmark Competition Drawings | 1,972 | 1,571 | 79.67% |
| VPRS8362 | Photograph Albums : Alpha-Numeric Sequence [J.B. Hosking Collection] | 1,686 | 1,499 | 88.91% |
| VPRS8359 | Black and White Negatives : Sequential Number | 1,379 | 1,378 | 99.93% |
| VPRS19731 | Historic Photographic Collection, Prints | 1,377 | 1,351 | 98.11% |
| VPRS10516 | Photographs and Negatives of Government Buildings | 1,975 | 809 | 40.96% |
Digital items¶
Items that have format set to Digital seem to be mostly born digital records – in other words, they were created as digital objects, rather than being physical records that were later digitised by scanning or imaging. These 'digital' records don't have IIIF manifests, and are encapsulated within XML files using the VERS standard. However, it seems that there are also some digitised images amongst the digital items.
There are 61,095 digital items.
Count of digital items by decade¶
This chart displays the number of digital items whose date range overlaps with each decade since 1830.
Count of digital items by series (top 20)¶
This table shows which series contain the most digital items.
| series_id | series_title | total_items | digital_items | percent_digital |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VPRS15687 | [not found] | 22,042 | 21,846 | 99.11% |
| VPRS16497 | Exhibits | 18,134 | 18,134 | 100.00% |
| VPRS17684 | [not found] | 6,832 | 6,716 | 98.30% |
| VPRS16171 | Regional Land Office Parish and Township Plans Digitised Reference Set | 5,091 | 5,091 | 100.00% |
| VPRS18741 | [not found] | 2,462 | 2,462 | 100.00% |
| VPRS16493 | [not found] | 1,686 | 1,686 | 100.00% |
| VPRS18241 | Submissions [Published] | 1,665 | 1,665 | 100.00% |
| VPRS16681 | 2009 Victorian Bushfires Fire Recovery Photo Point Library | 1,263 | 1,263 | 100.00% |
| VPRS18244 | Witness Statements [Published] | 1,145 | 1,145 | 100.00% |
| VPRS18552 | Performance and Assurance Audit Reports to Parliament | 422 | 422 | 100.00% |
| VPRS18553 | State Finances and Financial Audit Reports to Parliament | 169 | 169 | 100.00% |
| VPRS16295 | [not found] | 85 | 74 | 87.06% |
| VPRS15048 | [not found] | 539 | 71 | 13.17% |
| VPRS18243 | Transcripts [Published] | 50 | 50 | 100.00% |
| VPRS18248 | Final Report | 39 | 39 | 100.00% |
| VPRS19313 | Deadly Questions Campaign - Website Video Content | 38 | 38 | 100.00% |
| VPRS18246 | Media Releases | 32 | 32 | 100.00% |
| VPRS18245 | Terms of Reference and Procedural Records [Published] | 26 | 26 | 100.00% |
| VPRS19731 | Historic Photographic Collection, Prints | 1,377 | 26 | 1.89% |
| VPRS19311 | Deadly and Proud Campaign - Website Video Content | 24 | 24 | 100.00% |
Images¶
There are a large number of results that have category set to Image. These 'image' records don't seem to be defined in the PROV Archival Control Model. The 'image' records describe individual pages from digitised items, attaching additional metadata such as the name of a person mentioned on that page. This means there can be multiple image records for a single page if, for example, the page includes a list of names.
There are 3,613,751 images.
Count of images by series (top 20)¶
This table shows which series contain the most images.
| series_id | series_title | digitised_items | total_images |
|---|---|---|---|
| VPRS948 | Outward Passengers to Interstate, U.K. and Foreign Ports (Refer to Microfilm Copy VPRS 3506) | 246 | 1,661,194 |
| VPRS947 | Inward Overseas Passenger Lists (see Microfiche Copies: VPRS 7666 United Kingdom Ports; VPRS 7667 Foreign Ports; VPRS 13439 New Zealand Ports) | 267 | 1,608,518 |
| VPRS14 | Register of Assisted Immigrants from the United Kingdom [refer to microform copy, VPRS 3502] | 20 | 173,167 |
| VPRS4527 | Ward Register (known as Children's Registers 1864 - 1887) | 156 | 55,431 |
| VPRS13579 | Teacher Record Books | 153 | 49,106 |
| VPRS515 | Central Register of Male Prisoners | 100 | 44,285 |
| VPRS5714 | Land Selection Files, Section 12 Closer Settlement Act 1938 [including obsolete and top numbered Closer Settlement and WW1 Discharged Soldier Settlement files] | 5,824 | 7,721 |
| VPRS8168 | Historic Plan Collection | 10,932 | 7,182 |
| VPRS516 | Central Register of Female Prisoners | 15 | 6,782 |
| VPRS5357 | Land Selection And Correspondence Files | 498 | 322 |
| VPRS12758 | Index Map Book | 1 | 43 |
Created by Tim Sherratt for the GLAM Workbench.
Data from the PROV API is available under a CC-BY-NC licence.