Document Type

Article

Publication Date

Spring 8-1-2025

Published In

The American Archivist

Abstract

Large archival institutions have contended with the challenges presented by born-digital materials for much longer than smaller institutions, with the latter only recently beginning their own attempts to manage these items. This case study details the process of starting a born-digital archival accessioning program and iteratively designing workflows scalable for a small institution. We review our approach to acquiring storage space and assessing our existing born-digital holdings and needs, lay out our initial accessioning workflow, discuss our processes of documentation and iteration, and reflect on tensions with archival education and best practices. By sharing this case study, we aim to outline a practical approach to initiating a born-digital archiving program using robust and extensible accessioning practices. Further, we emphasize that a focus on iteration and a willingness to weigh best practices against contextual limitations can provide a crucial path forward for under-resourced institutions struggling to wrangle born-digital records.

Keywords

Accessioning, Best practices, Born digital, Iteration, Liberal arts college

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License

Comments

This work is freely available under a Creative Commons license.

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