Methodology
These petitions are intensely material objects: they crinkle under the fingers, stick together in chunks, and must be flipped with care so that they don't rip; they are also three-dimensional items even after flattening, sporting the thick creases leftover from their tri-folded storage. Therefore, I decided to catalog this collection as images rather than documents, because I felt it essential to recognize the digital nature of this material.
My Dublin Core Class is set to Image and uses Dublin Core (DC) as the base profile. I employed DC and AAT controlled vocabularies.
Title (dcterms:title) - A name assigned to the resource by record creator(s).
Original Title (dcterms:alternate) - The original name for the resource, as assigned by creator(s). From the label "Alternate Title."
Date (dcterms:date) - A point or period of time associated with the creation of the resource.
Description (dcterms:description) - An account of the resource.
Subject (dcterms:subject) - The topic of the resource. Uses AAT.
Language (dcterms:language) - A language of the resource.
Source (dcterms:source) - A related resource from which the described resource is derived.
Creator (dcterms:creator) - An entity primarily responsible for making the resource.
Publisher-Electronic (dcterms:publisher) - An entity responsible for making the resource electronically available. From the label "Publisher."
Publication Date-Electronic (dcterms:publication) - Date of creation of the electronic resource. From the label "Publication Date."
Rights (dcterms:rights) - Information about rights held in and over the resource.
Rights Statement (dcterms:rightsHolder) - A person or organization owning or managing rights over the resource. From the label "Rights Holder."
Access Rights (dcterms:accessRights) - Information about who can access the resource or an indication of its security status.
Taxonomy (dcterms:abstract) - A suggested taxonomy of the resource. From the label "Abstract."
Digital Format (dcterms:format) - The digital file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource. From the label "Format."