Tracking Collections in the Born-Digital Tracking Log

Owned by Monique Lassere (Unlicensed)
Last updated: Sept 23, 2022


The Born-Digital Collections Tracking Log (access required) is meant to track born-digital manuscript content as they are accessioned and undergo processing. The specific processes the tracking log aims to monitor are: 

  • incoming accessions and accruals
  • data capture or migration from one type of media to another
  • verification of integrity and authenticity
  • identification and redaction of sensitive data or personally identifiable information 

Some born-digital manuscript content is out of scope for the log, such as collections-related data, objects from the Harvard Library Bulletin. 

Who should use this form? Anyone engaged in the accessioning, media preservation, and otherwise processing of born-digital manuscript collections. 

Instructions for using

Accessions Tab

Accessions Log

The Accessions & Accruals tab tracks incoming collections material by way of legacy media, network transfer, and data migration. Staff responsible for accessioning born-digital materials should use this tab to track incoming materials individually or in batches by Media Type. In order to use this log, you must also a) create labels for tangible media and b) photograph them. Materials that come in by way of network transfer and data migration do not need physical labels or to be photographed; they do however need to be given a batch container number, which is important for staging a location on storage for this material. R for required and O for optional. 

  • COLLECTION NAME (R)
  • ACCESSION NUMBER (R) 
  • CALL NUMBER (R) 
  • ORIGINAL FOLDER TITLE (O) If the media item was in a folder, please write the title of the folder here.
  • ORIGINAL BOX NUMBER (R) The number of the box the item was separated from. 
  • ITEM NUMBER (R) A number generated for the individual born-digital material/item. The Item Number is formed by appending the Batch Number with an underscore, the acronym 'BD' and the number of the item, as such like following: Am2350_BD01, Am2350BD02, etc.
    • Batch Numbers (also called batch container numbers) are simply the Call Number appended by an underscore and BD, like such Am2350_BD, Thr1862_BD.
  • BORN-DIGITAL BOX NUMBER (O) The new box number where the item is placed/temporarily housed in. 
  • TRANSFER SOURCE: Controlled List.
  • MEDIA TYPE Controlled list. Select from the drop-down list of media types. 
  • MANUFACTURER The name of media manufacturer can usually be found on the media carrier, if any. 
  • ESTIMATED STORAGE This field refers to the estimated storage of unprocessed media. The 'Controlled Lists' tab has standard storage capacity conversions in GB. If the storage capacity is listed on the media carrier, please list that here. 
  • ACCESSIONING NOTES Please list anything of note about the physical condition of the item, including any written or typed labels. 
  • DATE ADDED
  • PHOTOS COMPLETED: Yes/No

Processing Log

  • ITEM NUMBER Identifier for media item or batch of files
  • MEDIA FORMAT Controlled list 
  • MANUFACTURER Pulled from media carrier 
  • Photos Completed? 
  • DATA CAPTURE (R)
    • Capture Type: Imaging or Transfer
    • Result: Successful, Failed, Unknown, See Notes
    • Date 
    • Software/Hardware: Varies
    • Notes: Long-form text noting errors in the transfer/imaging process
  • VIRUS SCANNING (R)
    • Result: Pass, Fail
    • Notes: Long-form text noting failures or errors in the transfer/imaging process
  • DATA EXTRACTION (O) - Disk images only 
    • Software: Varies
    • Result: Successful, Failed
    • Notes: Long-form text noting failures or errors in the data extraction
  • DATA NORMALIZATION (O) - For files requiring normalization to target DRS formats
  • REPORTING STATUS: Pass, Fail
  • STORAGE
    • Bagging Status: Completed
    • DRS Deposit Date

Controlled Lists

Media Type 

  • 3.5-inch floppy disk
  • 5.25-inch floppy disk
  • 8-inch floppy disk
  • CD(s)
  • cellular telephone
  • Compact flash card
  • Computer
  • DVD(s)
  • External hard drive 
  • File transfer
  • flash drive(s)
  • hard disk
  • hard drive
  • Internal hard drive 
  • Internal hard drive (solid state)
  • Jaz disk
  • Minidisc
  • SD memory card
  • USB/flash drive
  • Zip disk

Backlog Survey

The Backlog survey is a static copy of the survey that Melanie Wisner and Magee Lawhorn conducted. Please refer to this tab when identifying or pulling items from the backlog to process.