Using Born Digital Tracker
- Jenny Gotwals
- Zachary Maiorana
- Johanna Carll
- Paula Aloisio
Last updated October 2023
BornDigitalTracker (BDT) is a FileMaker database developed in 2023. BDT exclusively tracks DSC-processed tangible born-digital media carriers and network-transmitted born-digital accessions. BDT does not track born-digital audiovisual carriers or photo CDs that were sent directly to the Lead Archivist, Visual Materials and Recorded Sound Collections following accession. BDT succeeds AV/DC Tracker, a retired database that was used for all analog time-based and all born-digital media objects.
Definitions
- BDID: Born Digital Identifier. A unique identifier applied to the entire inventory of born-digital media in collections as well as each disk and network acquisition.
- Collection style: Data-###
- Item style: Data-###_###[x]
- Tracking: Tracking describes DCS control over accessioned tangible media and network-acquired born-digital accessions. Tracking is the next step in the born-digital workflow following accession and custodial transfer to DCS. Tracking comprises giving a collection’s born-digital accessions a unique Data-### number (BDID), and giving item-level control metadata to each disk and network acquisition.
Layouts: CollectionRecord
CollectionRecord gives a top-level view of a collection’s born-digital tracking information. This layout also gives views to multiple tables that describe the state of born-digital work in the collection.
CollectionRecord information
Included in this layout are basic metadata about the collection, including its name, BDID, and archival/bibliographic identifiers. BDT allows the inclusion of the processor name and the date of acquisition, if necessary. Collection Notes allow for additional details. Use the “Find Carrier Extents” button to see a sum of each carrier type in the collection.
CollectionRecord: Disk list view
The disk list is a table with summary details about each disk or network acquisition in the collection. The Find Disk button on each entry opens the DiskRecord layout to view more information about the disk.
CollectionRecord: Archival item list view
At deposit, finding aid metadata and technical metadata from the file lists are added. The archival item list view gives summary information about each archival item described in the finding aid. Following deposit, DRS reports are added to BDT to permit DRS data ingest and to link out to both the DRS admin record for the object and the URN for each file. Archival items whose access method is the Virtual Reading Room (indicated by the VRR column) do not link to a URN because their access copies are administered via the Virtual Reading Room only.
CollectionRecord: Collection workflow view
BDT’s collection workflow table tracks born-digital work in each collection. The workflow view permits tracking of each processing stage.
Layouts: DiskRecord
Like the disk list view in CollectionRecord, the DiskRecord includes data from BDT’s disk table.
DiskRecord: Disk Name
The Disk Name is a transcription of the physical disk label.
DiskRecord: Storage medium
The storage medium shows the carrier type if the disk is a physical carrier, or in the case of network acquisitions the storage medium field shows that the “disk” is in fact data stored on the Born Digital SharePoint site with no associated physical carrier. Network data is still given a BDID.
DiskRecord: Image data
Image data is generated from a log file when DCS creates a forensic duplicate image of a disk. Not all imaging techniques generate the same data and the most common method, using FTK Imager, does not produce the same data for all image types.
DiskRecord: Disk photos
Disk photos are created to show the physical character of the disk.
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