Donors and Dealers

Repositories

Policy

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• Know whether your digital files may include the intellectual property of people other than the creator or donor of the materials.
• Know the circumstances under which the material was created. Was it part of your work? Your research? Your personal correspondence?

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• Develop policies for the retention and disposal of files and digital media.
• Balance desire to gather information about donor’s working environment with need to respect donor privacy and wishes.
• Develop strategies to manage restriction, redaction, and discovery of sensitive material that may have been overlooked in initial review.

Collaboration

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• Ask repositories for guidance and documentation.If possible, establish direct communication between the donor and repository staff to facilitate understanding.
• Discuss the overall process, timetable, and likely outcomes with repository staff.
• Inform the repository of the presence of legally protected private files, such as medical records, and especially sensitive types of information, such as Social Security numbers.
• Involve technical (IT) or legal support people in the process, if needed and/or suggested by the repository staff.

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• Prior to acquisition, gather information about archives containing born-digital content.
• Share documentation with donors and dealers.
• Clarify expectations regarding digital preservation and access.

Preparation

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• Consider the amount of time available to understand, and contribute fully, to the process of transferring the digital material.
• Decide which content you want to transfer to the repository.
• Do not manipulate, extract, or copy data from its original source before offering the material for gift or purchase; or do so in consultation with repository staff.
• Most donors will want to screen email files for sensitive and/or extraneous messages; do so in consultation with repository staff.
• Work closely with the repository to ensure that digital media are packed and shipped in a way that guarantees their safe arrival.
• Be prepared for the copying and transfer of your files to take time.

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• Consider potential future use when assessing the value of disk images, deleted files, and automatically saved files.
• Assess the collection’s location and complexity, need for ongoing communication, and possibility of remote acquisition.
• Conduct a digital records survey.
• Determine how digital materials will be transferred to the repository.
• Establish a process for screening email for sensitive messages.
• Consider embargo as alternative when staff, time, or technology constraints do not permit intensive screening.

Documentation

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• Prior to transfer, determine which files need to be restricted or redacted and the terms. Give this information to the repository.
• Identify areas of concern to flag for repository staff.
• Carefully review all agreements.

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• Address born-digital materials in the acquisition agreement or contract.
• Document whether a donor can provide another copy of her digital files to a different repository.
• Develop and distribute guidelines for the transfer of digital files.
• Clearly define which materials are to be included in the acquisition.
• Document how to handle sensitive information included in the collection.
• Document the handling of passwords, encryption, and deleted content.
• Document what type of access users may have to processed collections.