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Guidance for Donors, Dealers, and Archival Repositories

4 Key Stages in Acquiring Digital Materials

1 Leave a comment on paragraph 1 0 This section identifies key stages in the acquisition of born-digital materials and offers recommendations to help repositories, donors, and dealers navigate this process.

2 Leave a comment on paragraph 2 0 Once all parties have decided to proceed with the acquisition of a collection that includes born-digital materials, an agreement or contract should be established between the repository and the donor or dealer that defines the materials to be transferred and specifies other details related to the acquisition. Because digital media may contain files or fragments not immediately apparent to the donor, and because repositories must invest substantial resources to capture, maintain, and make accessible born-digital materials, both parties may consider limiting the scope and types of files included in a transfer. Likewise, some archival repositories may want to take a more comprehensive approach, retaining digital media for their potential research and iconic value and in order to recover more information as future technology advances. Furthermore, one especially noteworthy difference between physical and digital property lies in the ease with which exact copies of a digital file may be created and disseminated. Donors may wish to retain a copy of the digital files for their use. Repositories will want to clarify whether they will be the sole authorized entity for the ownership, preservation, and management of a body of digital files.

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Source: https://mcpress.media-commons.org/borndigital/key-stages-in-acquiring-digital-materials/