adj. (also born-digital)originating in a computer environmentCloonan and Sanett 2002, 74The terminology used in discussing the preservation of electronic records can be problematic. Records created or maintained in electronic form, either analog or digital, are herein referred to as “electronic records.” It is impossible to avoid using the term “digital preservation,” however, because that is the term most frequently used in the preservation literature. (For example, in the works cited here, nearly every author uses it.) We recognize that it is not always the most precise term for archivists because it refers to the preservation of reformatted items, born-digital electronic materials, and born-again digital materials. We will use the term “digital preservation” to reflect the general preservation discourse found both in the literature and in our interviews, as well as “preservation of electronic records,” when appropriate.Hedstrom et al. 2006, 163Past experience provides useful guidance when identifying the significant properties of physical objects, but there is little research and only limited experience with applying these concepts to born-digital objects.Nash and Sosnowsky 2010, 154The universe of born-digital records has expanded tremendously, including records created on web-based systems, the fastest growing composing of the electronic records universe.Kirschenbaum et al. 2010, 23Preserving born-digital materials means preserving not only the object itself but also its relationship to other objects, or its position as part of a larger process. Those relationships—how a file fits into a particular system, whether that system is actually the file system, a personal organizational strategy, or a much larger network—are what make each file unique and irreplaceable.Leventhal et al. 2021, 328Born-digital design records pose many challenges related to technological dependencies that the archives must consider before acquisition to properly preserve and make the collections available.adv.originating in a computer environmentEvans 2007, 388The problem, simply stated, is this: Archives barely have the resources to manage existing collections, new accessions, and new and changing forms of records, including those “born digital.”Davis 2008, 168The past two decades have seen an increasing emphasis on records that are “born digital,” that is, created and maintained electronically, such as word processed documents, databases, spreadsheets, email, and websites, all of which have become accepted recordkeeping practice across a wide spectrum of repositories.Note 2011, 41Digital images are created in two ways. They can be born digital, originating in digital form in cameras, cell phones, or digital imaging software. . . . Alternatively, digital images can result from digitization, in which photographic negatives, prints, or transparencies are scanned into a computer.
