Born-digital

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Born-digital is a term from digital preservation describing digital materials that originated in the digital realm and have no print or analog counterpart.^[1] This is in contrast to Digital Reformatting. Examples include email, wikis, multimedia objects, and any other material that is created electronically and is not (or cannot) be printed. Born-digital materials pose particular problems for those looking to preserve them, as the field of digital preservation is comparatively new. One problem described by Lazinger is the fluid, dynamic nature of purely digital resources: they are often interactive in ways that analog materials cannot be.^[2] She further notes that born-digital material is "more amorphous, less bibliographically controlled, and in danger of disappearing without a trace unless it is properly identified, documented for future access, and preserved technologically."^[2] In short, general digital preservation concerns are magnified for born-digital materials, as there is no 'back-up' analog counterpart. The 1998 Research Libraries Group study "Digital Preservation Needs and Requirements in RLG Member Institutions" uses electronic record as a synonym with born-digital materials.^[3]

[edit] Notes and references

^ Introduction - Definitions and Concepts. Digital Preservation Coalition. Retrieved on 2008-04-28.
^ ^a ^b Lazinger, Susan S. (2001). Digital Preservation and Metadata: History, Theory, Practice. Englewood, Colorado: Libraries Unlimited, 17.
^ Hedstrom, Margaret; Sheon Montgomery (December 1998). Digital Preservation Needs and Requirements in RLG Member Institutions. Retrieved on 2008-04-29.