Digital records are not simply the 21st century equivalent of traditional paper records. They have other properties, characteristics and applications. However, both digital and paper records must meet the same legal requirements. In practice, this require

Digital records are not simply the 21st century equivalent of traditional paper records. They have other properties, characteristics and applications. However, both digital and paper records must meet the same legal requirements. In practice, this requires a different approach.

¶ Digital records are not tangible objects like a book or a magazine, but a combination of hardware, software and computer files. This combination is necessary to be able to use the documents or examine them. In the context of Testbed we looked specifically at text documents, databases, email messages and spreadsheets. Multimedia documents, digital video and sound can also be digital records, but these remained outside the scope of this study.

¶ An important difference compared to paper records is the greater loss of information that can occur even while the records are being used, or afterwards when the records are being maintained. After all, hard discs and computers are replaced regularly and there are few barriers to destroying computer files. A single click on the 'delete' button and a record disappears without leaving a trace.