[There is a question as to whether] medium – that is, the physical carrier on which a record is stored – is a part of the record itself or as a part of its technological context. For diplomatists examining medieval documents, the medium is an essential c

[There is a question as to whether] medium – that is, the physical carrier on which a record is stored – is a part of the record itself or as a part of its technological context. For diplomatists examining medieval documents, the medium is an essential component of a record because the examination of the physical carrier on which the document is inscribed is one of the most obvious proofs of its authenticity. In the translation of diplomatic concepts into the modern, paper-based, recordkeeping environments, the medium has continued to be treated as a part of the record itself, mainly because the medium and the message are inextricably linked. ¶ The question was whether, in an electronic recordkeeping environment, the medium should continue to be treated as an essential part of the record itself given that 1) the medium and the message are no longer inextricably linked; 2) what is inscribed on or affixed to the medium is not a record as such (or words, or pictures), but a bitstream; and 3) the choice of a medium by those creating or maintaining the record is often arbitrary and carries no particular significance.