Born-Digital Acquisition Guide (edit in progress)
The purpose of this guide is to help curators identify and appraise materials to support processing goals.
Instructions
- Downloading and filling out this document is encouraged. If you do that, please rename the file (using a collection identifier) and save it. YouGenerate or download the questionnaire in one of the following ways:
- You can download a pre-made Word document here: BDAcquisition-Template-2021.doc
- When completed, send to the Digital Archivist in any of the following ways:
General
- Please list associated Collection Identifiers if any (accession number, manuscript number):
- What born-digital content should be transferred? Where is it located?
- How does the born-digital content overlap with the rest of the collection materials?
Formats
- What types of born-digital media are there?
- What types of computer files are there? Examples: Word processing files (.doc, .txt), photographs (.jpeg)
Work Habits
- Please describe their work and/or computing habits. How is content organized? What software did they use?
- Who created these files and what are their roles?
Privacy and Security
- Are any of these files encrypted? Do any require login information?
- Do any files contain sensitive or legally protected information? Examples include Social Security Numbers, bank account information, or other sensitive materials or data, etc.
Networked data
- Email:
- If the acquisition includes email, please provide email providers/platforms and associated login information*.
- Please describe the current format of the email.
- Social Media: If the acquisition includes social media, please list the associated platforms, as well as usernames and hashtags.
Cloud Storage & Document Sharing
- Does any content live on cloud storage? Are they publicly or privately available?
- Please list the cloud storage/document sharing sites and associated login information, if necessary.*
- Does any of the born-digital content exist on picture, video, or other media sharing sites (i.e. YouTube, Flickr, Vimeo, etc.)? Please list them with associated login information.*
*Note about Login Information
Please note that login information should be sent via encrypted email to the Accessioning Archivist or the Digital Archivist.