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{{short description|Materials that originate in a digital form}}
The term '''born-digital''' refers to materials that originate in a [[Digital data|digital]] form.<ref name="NDIIPP">NDIIPP, [http://www.digitalpreservation.gov/swf/activity.swf "Preserving Digital Culture,"] Library of Congress.</ref> This is in contrast to [[digital reformatting]], through which [[analog recording|analog]] materials become [[Digital data|digital]]. It is most often used in relation to [[digital libraries]] and the issues that go along with said organizations, such as [[digital preservation]] and [[intellectual property]]. However, as technologies have advanced and spread, the concept of being born-digital has also been discussed in relation to personal consumer-based sectors, with the rise of [[e-books]] and evolving digital music. Other terms that might be encountered as synonymous include "natively digital", "digital-first", and "digital-exclusive".<ref name="Lazinger">Susan S. Lazinger, "Issues of Policy and Practice in Digital Preservation," in ''Digital Libraries: Policy, Planning, and Practice'', ed. Judith Andrews and Derek Law (Burlington: Ashgate, 2004), 100</ref><ref name="Eaton">Lance Eaton, "Books Born Digital," ''Library Journal'', May 15, 2009, 26.</ref>
{{for|the book by John Palfrey and Urs Gasser|Born Digital}}
The term '''born-digital''' refers to materials that originate in a [[Digital data|digital]] form.<ref name="NDIIPP">NDIIPP, [http://www.digitalpreservation.gov/swf/activity.swf "Preserving Digital Culture,"] Library of Congress.</ref> This is in contrast to [[digital reformatting]], through which [[analog recording|analog]] materials become [[Digital data|digital]], as in the case of files created by scanning physical paper records.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://digitizationguidelines.gov/term.php?term=borndigital|title=Born digital - Glossary - Federal Agencies Digitization Guidelines Initiative|website=digitizationguidelines.gov|access-date=2019-05-05}}</ref><ref name="www2.archivists.org">{{Cite web|url=https://www2.archivists.org/glossary/terms/b/born-digital|title=born digital {{!}} Society of American Archivists|website=www2.archivists.org|access-date=2019-05-05}}</ref> It is most often used in relation to [[digital libraries]] and the issues that go along with said organizations, such as [[digital preservation]] and [[intellectual property]]. However, as technologies have advanced and spread, the concept of being born-digital has also been discussed in relation to personal consumer-based sectors, with the rise of [[e-books]] and evolving digital music. Other terms that might be encountered as synonymous include "natively digital", "digital-first", and "digital-exclusive".<ref name="Lazinger">Susan S. Lazinger, "Issues of Policy and Practice in Digital Preservation," in ''Digital Libraries: Policy, Planning, and Practice'', ed. Judith Andrews and Derek Law (Burlington: Ashgate, 2004), 100</ref><ref name="Eaton" />


==Discrepancies in definition==
==Discrepancies in definition==
There exists some inconsistency in defining born-digital materials. Some believe such materials must exist in digital form exclusively; in other words, if it can be transferred into a physical, analog form, it is not truly born-digital.<ref name="dpc">[http://www.dpconline.org/advice/preservationhandbook/introduction/definitions-and-concepts "Introduction - Definitions and Concepts,"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120401184900/http://www.dpconline.org/advice/preservationhandbook/introduction/definitions-and-concepts |date=2012-04-01 }} Digital Preservation Coalition.</ref> However, others maintain that while these materials will often not have a subsequent physical counterpart, having one does not bar them from being classified as 'born-digital'.<ref name="NDIIPP" /> For instance, Mahesh and Mittal identify two types of born-digital content, "exclusive digital" and "digital for print", allowing for a broader base of classification than the former definition provides.<ref name="Mahesh">G. Mahesh and Rekha Mittal, [http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/viewPDF.jsp?contentType=Article&Filename=html/Output/Published/EmeraldFullTextArticle/Pdf/2630270408.pdf "Digital Content Creation and Copyright Issues,"] ''The Electronic Library'' 27, no 4 (2008), 678.</ref>
There exists some inconsistency in defining born-digital materials. Some believe such materials must exist in digital form exclusively; in other words, if they can be transferred into a physical, analog form, they are not truly born-digital.<ref name="dpc">[http://www.dpconline.org/advice/preservationhandbook/introduction/definitions-and-concepts "Introduction - Definitions and Concepts,"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120401184900/http://www.dpconline.org/advice/preservationhandbook/introduction/definitions-and-concepts |date=2012-04-01 }} Digital Preservation Coalition.</ref> However, others maintain that while these materials will often not have a subsequent physical counterpart, having one does not bar them from being classified as 'born-digital'.<ref name="NDIIPP" /> For instance, Mahesh and Mittal identify two types of born-digital content, "exclusive digital" and "digital for print", allowing for a broader base of classification than the former definition provides.<ref name="Mahesh">G. Mahesh and Rekha Mittal, [http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/viewPDF.jsp?contentType=Article&Filename=html/Output/Published/EmeraldFullTextArticle/Pdf/2630270408.pdf "Digital Content Creation and Copyright Issues,"]{{Dead link|date=October 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} ''The Electronic Library'' 27, no 4 (2008), 678.</ref>


Furthermore, it has been pointed out that certain works may incorporate components that are both born-digital and [[digitized]], further blurring the lines between what should and should not be considered 'born-digital.' For example, a [[digital video]] created may utilize historical film footage that has been converted.<ref name="Friedlander">Amy Friedlander, "Summary of Findings" in [http://www.clir.org/pubs/reports/pub106/pub106.pdf ''Building a National Strategy for Digital Preservation: Issues in Digital Media Archiving,''] Council on Library and Information Resources and Library of Congress, 2.</ref> It is important to be aware of these discrepancies when thinking about born-digital materials and the effects they have. However, some universals do exist across these definitions. All make clear the fact that born-digital media must originate digitally. Also, they agree that this media must be able to be utilized in a digital form (whether exclusively or otherwise), while they do not have to exist or be used as analog materials.
Furthermore, it has been pointed out that certain works may incorporate components that are both born-digital and [[digitized]], further blurring the lines between what should and should not be considered 'born-digital.' For example, a [[digital video]] created may utilize historical film footage that has been converted.<ref name="Friedlander">Amy Friedlander, "Summary of Findings" in [http://www.clir.org/pubs/reports/pub106/pub106.pdf ''Building a National Strategy for Digital Preservation: Issues in Digital Media Archiving,''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170710093741/https://www.clir.org/pubs/reports/pub106/pub106.pdf |date=2017-07-10 }} Council on Library and Information Resources and Library of Congress, 2.</ref> It is important to be aware of these discrepancies when thinking about born-digital materials and the effects they have. However, some universals do exist across these definitions. All make clear the fact that born-digital media must originate digitally. Also, they agree that this media must be able to be utilized in a digital form (whether exclusively or otherwise), while they do not have to exist or be used as analog materials.


==Trends==
==Etymology==
The term "born digital" is of uncertain origin. While it may have occurred to multiple people at various times, it was coined independently by web developer Randel (Rafi) Metz in 1993, who acquired the domain name "borndigital.com" then and sustained it as a personal website for 18 years until 2011. The domain is now owned by a web developer in New Zealand. The original website is [http://www.rafimetz.com/borndigital/ archived here].
Easily seen within the area of [[e-books]], publishing houses use the electronic format as "digital appetizers" within "prepublication digital giveaways". Often they offer the digital formats at a reduced cost to the printed versions or else produce "digital-exclusive publications" for use on e-book readers, such as the [[Amazon Kindle|Kindle]]. One example of this was with the simultaneous launch of Amazon's [[Kindle 2]] with the Stephen King novelette ''Ur''.<ref>Eaton, Lance. "Books born digital: The emerging phenomenon of books published first in digital format." Library Journal. 134. 9 (May 15, 2009)pg.26.</ref>


==Examples==
== Examples of born-digital content ==


=== Grey literature and communications ===
The following provides a list and examples of media that are considered to be common born-digital media:
Much of the [[grey literature]] that exists today are almost entirely conducted online, due in part to the accessibility and speed of internet communications.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://scholarship.law.duke.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1549&context=faculty_scholarship|title=Issues in the Preservation of Born-Digital Scholarly Communications in Law|last=Danner|first=Richard A.|date=2004|website=Duke Law Scholarship Repository|access-date=May 5, 2019}}</ref> As the products of the vast amount of information created by organizations and individuals on computers, data sets and electronic records must exist in the context of other activities.<ref name="Thibodeau2">Kenneth Thilbodeau, [http://www.dlib.org/dlib/february01/thibodeau/02thibodeau.html "Building the Archives of the Future,"] ''D-Lib Magazine'' 7, no. 2 (February 2001).</ref> Common content includes:


* [[Email]]<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/information-management/manage-information/digital-records-transfer/what-are-born-digital-records/|title=The National Archives - Homepage|last=Archives|first=The National|website=The National Archives|language=en-GB|access-date=2019-05-05}}</ref>
===Things that have always been 'born-digital'===
* Documents created in word [[processors]] and/or observed in [[List of PDF software|viewers.]]<ref name=":1" /><ref name="www2.archivists.org"/> Examples include [[Microsoft Word]], [[Google Docs]], [[WordPerfect]], Apple [[Pages (word processor)|Pages]], [[LibreOffice Writer]], and [[Adobe Acrobat|Adobe Reader]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=https://www.oclc.org/content/dam/research/activities/hiddencollections/borndigital.pdf|title=Defining "Born Digital"|last=Erway|first=Ricky|date=November 2010|website=OCLC|access-date=May 5, 2019}}</ref>
These are examples of media that originated in the [[Computer network|networked]] world, therefore existing as born-digital since inception.
* [[Spreadsheet]]s<ref name=":1" /> used to organize and tabulate data are almost entirely digital. Common applications include [[Microsoft Excel]], [[Google Sheets]], [[LibreOffice Calc]], and [[Lotus 1-2-3]] (discontinued).
*''[[Websites]]'', ''forums'', ''communities'', ''[[wikis]]''. Anything that was or has been created in a digital environment.
* Presentations<ref name=":1" /> used to present data and ideas are created with software such as [[Microsoft PowerPoint]], [[Google Slides]], [[LibreOffice Impress]], and [[Prezi]].
* [[Electronic medical records]]
* [[Social media|Social media websites]] such as [[Facebook]], [[Twitter]], and [[Reddit]] have originated in the networked world, and are therefore born-digital by default.[[File:Digital_camera_-_frontal_and_profile.jpg|alt=Neutral image of a digital camera, with a view of the image sensor (without lens), bottom with lens (left) and camera back (right).|thumb|230x230px|A digital camera]]


==== Digital photography ====
===Things that have migrated/are migrating toward 'born-digital'===
[[Digital photography]] has allowed larger groups of people to participate in the process, art form, and pastime of photography. With the advent of digital cameras in the late 1980s, followed by the invention and dissemination of [[Camera phone|mobile phones capable of photography]], sales of digital cameras eventually surpassed that of analog cameras.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.macworld.com/article/1039455/digitalfilm.html|title=Digital outsells film, but film still king to some|date=2004-09-23|website=Macworld|language=en|access-date=2019-05-05}}</ref> The early to mid 2000s saw the rise of photo storage websites, such as [[Flickr]] and [[Photobucket]], and social media websites dedicated primarily to sharing digital photographs, including [[Instagram]], [[Pinterest]], [[Imgur]], and [[Tumblr]]. Digital image files include Joint Photographic Experts Group ([[JPEG]]), Tagged Image File Format ([[TIFF]]), Portable Network Graphics ([[Portable Network Graphics|PNG]]), Graphic Interchange Format ([[GIF]]), and [[raw image format]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://users.wfu.edu/matthews/misc/graphics/formats/formats.html|title=Digital image file types|website=users.wfu.edu|access-date=2019-05-05}}</ref>
These forms have been created, shared and used independently of or prior to the use of computers, however they are increasingly using a digital format, resulting in separate born-digital creations.
[[File:Adobe_Illustrator_icon_CS6.svg|alt=logo of Adobe illustrator|left|thumb|118x118px|Adobe Illustrator is a widely used graphic design and illustration software.]]
*''[[E-books]]'', which are any electronic files on digital displays.<ref>Romano, Frank. "E-Books and the Challenge of Preservation." Building a National Strategy for Digital Preservation: Issues in Digital Media Archiving. April 2002. Pg. 28</ref>
*''Newspapers'' online,
*''Photographs'',
*''Web Exhibits'', including historical exhibits. These often use both primary and secondary historical sources, maps, timelines, infographics, and other data visualizations to showcase the historical past. Some are interactive. One example is [https://www.cliohistory.org/ '''Clio Visualizing History''']'s ''[https://www.cliohistory.org/click/ '''Click! The Ongoing Feminist Revolution''']'', a web exhibit about the American women's movement from the 1940s to the present. Clio Visualizing History was founded by [[Lola Van Wagenen]] in 1996 to meet the growing need for innovative history projects in multi-media platforms.
*''[[Webcomics]]'' are disseminated online, and are considered to be "born-digital". Webcomics follow the tradition of user-generated content and may later be printed by the creator, but as they were originally chosen to be disseminated through the internet, they are considered to be "born-digital" media.
*''Internet disseminated TV shows'' (these are specifically shown exclusively on the internet, not reruns available online). Examples of these include full-length internet shows, such as ''[[The Guild (web series)|The Guild]]'', as well as shorts, which are either user-generated content or used as promotional material by industries. ''The Guild'' is mentioned specifically because it has a series based format much like shows that exist on television do.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.watchtheguild.com/# |title=The Guild - a web series about gamers |access-date=2018-11-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070914054022/http://www.watchtheguild.com/# |archive-date=2007-09-14 |dead-url=yes |df= }}</ref> One series that has been distributed online includes ''[[Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog]]'' which has gotten a lot of media attention for the internet-available decision. Recently, ''Dr. Horrible'' has gotten further attention through winning an [[Emmy]] for short-format live action entertainment.<ref>[http://scifiwire.com/2009/09/dr-horrible-wins-first-em.php Dr. Horrible wins first Emmy for Joss Whedon] Blastr, September 13, 2009</ref>
*''Electronic records'' are the products of the vast amount of information created by organizations and individuals on computers. Examples are [[e-mail]], word-processed documents, and electronic spreadsheets. As records, they must exist in the context of other activities.<ref name="Thibodeau">Kenneth Thilbodeau, [http://www.dlib.org/dlib/february01/thibodeau/02thibodeau.html "Building the Archives of the Future,"] ''D-Lib Magazine'' 7, no. 2 (February 2001).</ref> They have become increasingly important in the government setting, as more and more communication in the technological age done digitally and laws in various countries require that this information be preserved.<ref name="Barata 63">Kimberly Barata, "Archives in the Digital Age," ''Journal of the Society of Archivists''25, no. 1 (2004), 63.</ref> [[Electronic medical records]] are also seeing heavy adoption.
*''Digital sound recordings'': the digital nature of sound recordings is not a new phenomenon; it has played a role since the 1970s with the acceptance of [[pulse-code modulation]] (PCM) in the recording process.<ref name="Brylawski 53">Samuel Brylawski, "Preservation of Digitally Recorded Sound" in [http://www.clir.org/pubs/reports/pub106/pub106.pdf ''Building a National Strategy for Digital Preservation: Issues in Digital Media Archiving,''] Council on Library and Information Resources and Library of Congress, 53.</ref> Since then it has become the fundamental way that sound is recorded and delivered. A number of means of storing and delivering digital audio have developed, including [[streaming media|web streams]], [[compact discs]] and [[mp3]] audio files.<ref name="Brylawski 53" /> Increasingly, more and more digital audio has become available as '[[download]] only,' lacking any kind of tangible counterpart. One example of this trend is the "notable" 2008 recording of Hector Berlioz's ''[[Symphonie fantastique]]'' by Los Angeles Philharmonic under Gustavo Dudamel.<ref name="Hoek 55">D.J. Hoek, "The Download Dilemma," ''American Libraries'' (August/September 2009), 55.</ref> Available through downloading only, it has presented problems for [[libraries]] which may want to carry this work but cannot due to [[licensing]] limitations.<ref name="Hoek 55" /> Another example, this one more commercial, is Radiohead's 2007 release ''[[In Rainbows]]'', released initially as a digital download only; however it addressed this issue of access, as the recording was released physically later in the year.


==== Digital art ====
==Etymology==
[[Digital art]] is an umbrella term for art created with a computer. Types include visual media, [[Computer animation|digital animation]], [[computer-aided design]], [[3D computer graphics|3D models]] and [[interactive art]]. [[Webcomics]], comics published primarily on the internet, are an example of exclusively born-digital art. Webcomics follow the tradition of user-generated content and may later be printed by the creator, but as they were originally disseminated through the internet, they are considered to be born-digital media. Many webcomics are published on existing social media websites, while others use webcomic-specific platforms or their own domains.
The term "borndigital" is of uncertain origin. While it may have occurred to multiple people at various times, it was coined independently by web developer Randel (Rafi) Metz in 1993, who acquired the domain name "borndigital.com" then and sustained it as a personal website for 18 years until 2011. The domain is now owned by a web developer in New Zealand. The original borndigital website is [http://www.rafimetz.com/borndigital/ archived here].


==== Electronic books ====
==Implications of born-digital content==
[[File:Kindle_2,_Kindle_3_&_Kindle_4.jpg|alt=Kindle 2, Kindle 3, and Kindle 4 shown side-by-side|thumb|352x352px|Different generations of the [[Amazon Kindle]], an e-reader device]]
There are many issues that accompany the rise in born-digital material over the years, speaking particularly to their format and quantity. All of these issues affect digital content in general, but are magnified for born-digital content as it often only exists digitally and it is constantly being created in this very unstable environment.
[[E-book]]s are books that can be read through the digital screens of computers, smartphones, or [[E-reader|dedicated devices]].<ref>Gardiner, Eileen and Ronald G. Musto. "The Electronic Book." In Suarez, Michael Felix, and H. R. Woudhuysen. ''The Oxford Companion to the Book.'' Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010, p. 164.</ref> The e-book sector of the book industry has flourished in recent years, with increasing numbers of e-books and e-book readers being developed and sold. [[E-publishing]] is particularly favorable to independent authors, because the digital marketplace creates a more direct connection between authors, their works, and the audience.<ref name="Romano 312">Romano, "E-Books," 31.</ref> Some [[publishing houses]], including major ones such as [[Harlequin Enterprises|Harlequin]], have formed [[Imprint (trade name)|imprints]] for digital-only books in response to this trend.<ref name="Weinman2">Sarah Weinman, [http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/11/10/harlequin-launches-digital-only-imprint-will-other-big-houses-f/ "Harlequin launches digital-only imprint. Will other big houses feel the romance?"] ''Daily Finance'', (November 10, 2009).</ref> Publishers also offer digital-exclusive publications for use on e-book readers, such as the [[Amazon Kindle|Kindle]]. One example of this was with the simultaneous launch of Amazon's [[Kindle 2]] with the Stephen King novelette ''Ur''.<ref name="Eaton">{{cite journal |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/234762409 |last=Eaton |first=Lance |title=Books born digital |journal=Library Journal |volume=134 |issue=9 |date=May 15, 2009 |page=26}}</ref> In recent years, however, the sale of e-books from traditional publishers has decreased, due in part to increasing prices.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/adamrowe1/2018/04/29/traditional-publishing-ebook-sales-dropped-10-in-2017/|title=Traditional Publishing Ebook Sales Dropped 10% In 2017|last=Rowe|first=Adam|website=Forbes|language=en|access-date=2019-05-05}}</ref>
<ref name=":0">Romano, Frank. "[https://www.clir.org/pubs/reports/pub106/ebooks/ E-Books and the Challenge of Preservation]." Building a National Strategy for Digital Preservation: Issues in Digital Media Archiving. April 2002. Pg. 28</ref>
[[File:TwilightZone2019.png|alt=Logo of the twilight zone, 2019. Subtitle reads "hosted by Jordan Peele"|left|thumb|308x308px|[[The Twilight Zone (2019 TV series)|The Twilight Zone]] is a 2019 web-exclusive remake of the original television series with [[The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series)|the same name]].]]


===Digital preservation===
==== Video recordings ====
Videos that are born-digital vary in type and usage. [[Vlog|'''Vlogs''']], an amalgamation of "video" and "blog," are streamed and consumed on video-sharing websites such as [[YouTube]].
{{main|Digital preservation}}
[[Digital preservation]] involves the many activities necessary to enable continuous access to digital content. These activities include "collection, description, migration, and redundant storage".<ref name="International 5">NDIIPP et al., [http://www.digitalpreservation.gov/library/resources/pubs/docs/digital_preservation_final_report2008.pdf "International Study on the Impact of Copyright Law on Digital Preservation,"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091229074708/http://www.digitalpreservation.gov/library/resources/pubs/docs/digital_preservation_final_report2008.pdf |date=2009-12-29 }} 5.</ref> Born-digital materials present certain difficulties in this mission. As with other [[digital object]]s, preservation must be a continuous and regular undertaking, as these materials do not show the same kinds of advanced warning signs of degradation that print and certain other physical materials do. Invisible processes such as [[data degradation|bit rot]] can lead to irreparable damage.<ref name="International 5" /> In other cases, such as on the [[World Wide Web|Web]], born-digital content is particularly [[ephemeral]] and changes, or even disappears, very quickly; lapses in preservation can cause these materials to escape forever.<ref name="Lyman 39">Peter Lyman, "Archiving the World Wide Web" in [http://www.clir.org/pubs/reports/pub106/pub106.pdf ''Building a National Strategy for Digital Preservation: Issues in Digital Media Archiving''], Council on Library and Information Resources and Library of Congress, 39.</ref> Those preserving digital materials also have to worry about changing [[technologies]] and the risk of [[digital obsolescence]].


Similarly, a '''[[web series]]''' is a television-like show that is shown exclusively and/or initially on the internet. This does not include the streaming of pre-existing traditional television shows. Examples include ''[[Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog]], [[The Lizzie Bennet Diaries|The Lizzie Bennett Diaries]],'' ''[[The Guild (web series)|The Guild]],'' and ''[[The Twilight Zone (2019 TV series)|The Twilight Zone (2019)]].''
Many questions arise regarding what should be archived and preserved and who should undertake the job. Vast amounts of born-digital content are created constantly and institutions are forced to decide what and how much should be saved. Because [[hyperlink|linking]] plays such a large role in the digital setting, on the Web, in [[wikis]] and [[blogs]], in electronic journals, and beyond, whether a responsibility exists to maintain access to [[hyperlink|links]] (and therefore context) is debated, especially when considering the scope of such a task.<ref name="Lyman 41">Lyman, "World Wide Web," 41.</ref> Additionally, since publishing is not as delineated in the digital realm and preliminary versions of work are increasingly made available, knowing when to archive presents further complications.<ref name="Danner 601">Richard A. Danner, [http://www.aallnet.org/products/pub_llj_v96n04/2004-38.pdf "Issues in the Preservation of Born-digital Scholarly Communications in Law,"] ''Law Library Journal'' 96, no. 4 (2004), 601.</ref>


==== Sound recordings ====
===Intellectual property===
In developing collections and making born-digital content available, [[library|libraries]] have had to deal with complex [[intellectual property]] issues. Laws internationally dealing with the rights regarding works were created to deal with [[analog recording|analog]] works; as such, provisions such as the [[first-sale doctrine]] of [[US copyright law]], which enables libraries to lend materials to patrons, have not been applied to the digital realm.<ref name="International 154">NDIIPP et al., "International," 154.</ref><ref name="Lyman 44">Lyman, "World Wide Web," 44.</ref> Therefore, certain [[copyright]]ed digital content that is [[licensed]] rather than owned, as is common with many digital materials, is often of limited use since it cannot be transmitted to patrons at various [[computer]]s or lent through an [[interloan]] agreement. Also, works can easily be damaged due to viruses or system problems, while licenses and [[encryption]] often prevent the ability to copy, necessary to protect a purchase and prevent obstruction of access. Lack of [[ownership]] also leaves libraries with nothing when their license expires, despite the costs already paid.<ref name="Calaba 23-5">Victor F. Calaba, [http://www.mttlr.org/volnine/calaba.pdf "Quibbles 'n Bits: Making a Digital First Sale Doctrine Feasible,"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100706023932/http://www.mttlr.org/volnine/calaba.pdf |date=2010-07-06 }} ''Michigan Telecommunications and Technology Law Review'' 9, no. 1 (2002), 23-5</ref> These problems have generally gone unsolved, with people still working toward solutions. However, with regards to the [[preservation (library and archival science)|preservation]] functions of libraries and [[archives]] and the subsequent need to make copies of born-digital materials, the laws of many countries have been changing, allowing for agreements to be made between these institutions and the rights holders of born-digital content.<ref name="International 154"/>


[[Digital recording|Digital sound recordings]] have played a role since the 1970s with the acceptance of [[pulse-code modulation]] (PCM) in the recording process.<ref name="Brylawski 532">Samuel Brylawski, "Preservation of Digitally Recorded Sound" in [http://www.clir.org/pubs/reports/pub106/pub106.pdf ''Building a National Strategy for Digital Preservation: Issues in Digital Media Archiving,''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170710093741/https://www.clir.org/pubs/reports/pub106/pub106.pdf |date=2017-07-10 }} Council on Library and Information Resources and Library of Congress, 53.</ref> Since then, numerous means of storing and delivering digital audio have been developed, including [[Streaming media|web streams]], [[compact discs]] and [[mp3]] audio files.<ref name="Brylawski 532" /> Increasingly, digital audio are only available via [[download]], lacking any kind of tangible counterpart. One example of this trend is the 2008 recording of Hector Berlioz's ''[[Symphonie fantastique]]'' by Los Angeles Philharmonic under Gustavo Dudamel.<ref name="Hoek 552">D.J. Hoek, "The Download Dilemma," ''American Libraries'' (August/September 2009), 55.</ref> Available through download only, it has presented problems for [[libraries]] which may want to carry this work but cannot due to [[licensing]] limitations.<ref name="Hoek 552" /> Another example is Radiohead's 2007 release ''[[In Rainbows]]'', released initially as a digital download.<ref>[[Jon Pareles|Pareles, Jon]] (9 December 2007). "Pay What You Want for This Article".''The New York Times''. Retrieved 30 December 2007</ref>
However, [[consumer]]s have also had to deal with [[intellectual property]] as it concerns their ownership of and ability to control the born-digital material that they buy. [[Copyright infringement|Piracy]] proves to be a bigger problem with digital objects, including those that are born-digital, because such materials can be copied and spread in perfect condition with speed and distance on a scale inconceivable for traditional print and physical materials.<ref name="Calaba 8">Calaba, "Quibbles," 8.</ref> Again, the [[first-sale doctrine]], which, from a consumer standpoint, allows purchasers of materials to sell or give away items (such as [[books]] and [[Compact disc|CDs]]), is not yet applied effectively to digital objects. Three reasons for this have been identified by Victor Calaba: "...first, license agreements imposed by software manufacturers typically prohibit exercise of the first sale doctrine; second, traditional copyright law may not support application of the first sale doctrine to digital works; finally, the {{bracket|[[Digital Millennium Copyright Act]]}} functionally prevents users from making copies of [[digitized]] works and prohibits the necessary bypassing of access control mechanisms to facilitate a transfer."<ref name="Calaba 9">Calaba, "Quibbles," 9.</ref>


The [[music industry]] has changed dramatically with the increase in digital music, specifically [[Music download|digital downloads]]. The digital format and consumers' growing comfort with it has led to rising sales in [[Single (music)|single tracks]]. This growth is clearly still underway, with all of the ten best-selling singles since 2000 having been released since 2007.<ref name="USAT2">[https://www.usatoday.com/life/music/news/2009-12-08-musicdecade08_TB_N.htm "What Musical Artists are Winning in this Digital Decade?"] ''USA Today'' (December 8, 2009).</ref> This does not necessarily signal the demise of CDs, as they are still more popular than digital [[albums]], but it does show that this changing born-digital content is having a significant influence on sales and the industry.<ref name="USAT2" />
===Effects on industries===
As more commercial items have moved toward becoming born-digital, the face of certain [[industries]] has begun to change and adapt. Some of the most affected are in relation to [[books]], [[periodicals]], and [[music]]. The [[e-book]] sector of the book industry has flourished in recent years, with increasing numbers of e-books and e-book readers being developed and sold, and rising numbers of books being born-digital. Giving in to this trend, some [[publishing houses]], including major ones such as [[Harlequin Enterprises|Harlequin]], have formed [[imprint (trade name)|imprint]]s for digital-only books.<ref name="Weinman">Sarah Weinman, [http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/11/10/harlequin-launches-digital-only-imprint-will-other-big-houses-f/ "Harlequin launches digital-only imprint. Will other big houses feel the romance?"] ''Daily Finance'', (November 10, 2009).</ref> [[Publishers]] who adopt these digital imprints see opportunities to save costs on things such as printing. However, this [[e-publishing]] also gives [[authors]] more independence from their publishers, because the digital marketplace creates a more direct connection between authors, their works, and the audience.<ref name="Romano 31">Romano, "E-Books," 31.</ref>
Similarly, [[academic journal|journal]] publishers have seen advantages to born-digital publications. Increasingly institutions are more interested in [[subscription business model|subscribing]] to digital versions of journals, something observed as some scholarly journals have unbundled their print and electronic editions and allowed for separate subscription; these trends have created questions about how economically sustainable production of print versions is. Already, some major journals such as that of the [[American Chemical Society]] have made significant changes to their print editions in order to cut costs, and many see a move toward exclusively digital journals as on the horizon.<ref name="Timmer">John Timmer, [https://arstechnica.com/science/news/2009/08/publisher-were-somewhere-on-the-road-to-pure-digital.ars "Print, beware! Publishers are "on the road" to pure digital,"] ''Ars Technica'' (August 13, 2009).</ref> These trends have spilled over into the [[magazine]] industry as well. [[PC Magazine]] went "100% digital" in early 2009, explaining "...that the ever-growing expense of print and delivery was turning the creation of a physical product into an untenable business proposition".<ref name="pcmag">Lance Ulanoff, [https://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2335009,00.asp "PC Magazine Goes 100% Digital: An Open letter to PC Magazine (Print) Readers,"] PC Magazine (November 19, 2008).</ref>


==== Other media ====
The [[music industry]] has changed dramatically with the increase in digital music, specifically [[Music download|digital downloads]]. There has been a dramatic increase in download activity in the new millennium, signaling changes in buying habits. The digital format and consumers' growing comfort with it has led to rising sales in [[single (music)|single tracks]]. This growth is clearly still underway, with all of the ten best-selling singles since 2000 having been released since 2007.<ref name="USAT">[https://www.usatoday.com/life/music/news/2009-12-08-musicdecade08_TB_N.htm "What Musical Artists are Winning in this Digital Decade?"] ''USA Today'' (December 8, 2009).</ref> This does not necessarily signal the demise of CDs, as they are still more popular than digital [[albums]], but it does show that this changing born-digital content is having a significant influence on sales and the industry.<ref name="USAT" />
[[WebExhibits]] are websites that act as virtual museums for any variety of content. These often use both primary and secondary historical sources, maps, timelines, infographics, and other data visualizations to showcase the historical past. One example is [https://www.cliohistory.org/ Clio Visualizing History]'s ''[https://www.cliohistory.org/click/ Click! The Ongoing Feminist Revolution]'', a web exhibit about the American women's movement from the 1940s to the present. Clio Visualizing History was founded by [[Lola Van Wagenen]] in 1996 to meet the growing need for innovative history projects in multi-media platforms.

=== Journalism ===
As existing print publications migrated to born-digital releases, digital native news websites such as [[HuffPost|''HuffPo'']] and [[BuzzFeed News|''Buzzfeed News'']] have grown substantially.<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal|last1=Boss|first1=Katherine |last2=Broussard|first2=Meredith|author2-link=Meredith Broussard |date=2017 |title=Challenges of archiving and preserving born-digital news applications |journal=IFLA Journal |language=en |volume=43 |issue=2 |pages=150–157 |doi=10.1177/0340035216686355 |s2cid=114479438 |issn=0340-0352}}</ref> This trend toward web-exclusive content has seen the rise of "news applications," or news articles built with interactive features that cannot be replicated on print.<ref name=":3" /> "News Apps" are often heavily [[Data journalism|data-driven]], using interactive graphics custom-built for the story by a team of software specialists in addition to the core group of writers and editors.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://datajournalismhandbook.org/uploads/first_book/DataJournalismHandbook-2012.pdf|title=The Data Journalism Handbook|last1=Gray|first1=Jonathan|last2=Bounegru|first2=Liliana|last3=Chambers|first3=Lucy|publisher=O’Reilly Media, Inc|year=2012|isbn=9781449330064|location=Sebastopol, CA}}</ref> Examples include [https://homicides.news.baltimoresun.com/ Baltimore Homicides] from ''[[The Baltimore Sun]]'', [https://lasvegassun.com/hospital-care/ Do No Harm] from the ''[[Las Vegas Sun]]'', and [https://www.nytimes.com/projects/2012/snow-fall/index.html Snow Fall] from [[The New York Times]], which took a team of more than fifteen journalists, web developers, and designers to build.<ref name=":3" />

== Key issues ==

=== Preservation ===
[[Digital preservation]] involves the conservation and maintenance of digital content. As with other [[digital object]]s, preservation must be a continuous and regular undertaking, as these materials do not show the same signs of degradation that print and other physical materials do. Invisible processes such as [[Data degradation|bit rot]] can lead to irreparable damage.<ref name="International 52">NDIIPP et al., [http://www.digitalpreservation.gov/library/resources/pubs/docs/digital_preservation_final_report2008.pdf "International Study on the Impact of Copyright Law on Digital Preservation,"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091229074708/http://www.digitalpreservation.gov/library/resources/pubs/docs/digital_preservation_final_report2008.pdf|date=2009-12-29}} 5.</ref> In the case of born-digital content, deterioration can occur in the form of [[Data degradation|bit rot]], a process in which digital files degrade over time, and [[link rot]], a process in which URLs link to pages on the internet that are no longer available.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.oclc.org/content/dam/research/activities/hiddencollections/borndigital.pdf|title=Defining "Born Digital"|last=Erway|first=Ricky|date=November 2010|website=OCLC|access-date=May 5, 2019}}</ref> Incompatibility is also a concern, in regard to the eventual obsolescence of both hardware and software capable of making sense of the documents.<ref name=":4">{{Cite conference |last=Light |first=Michelle |date=May 14, 2010 |title=Designing a Born-Digital Archive |conference=UC Irvine: "Time Will Tell, But Epistemology Won't: In Memory of Richard Rorty" A Symposium to Celebrate Richard Rorty's Archive |url=https://escholarship.org/uc/item/8wf5w4nk |access-date=April 23, 2022}}</ref>
[[File:3,5 DD floppy (720 KB) back.jpeg|alt=image of floppy disk on desk|thumb|A [[floppy disk]] requires obsolete technology in order to read its stored content.]]
Many questions arise regarding what should be archived and preserved and who should undertake the job. Vast amounts of born-digital content are created constantly and institutions are forced to decide what and how much should be saved. Because [[Hyperlink|linking]] plays such a large role in the digital setting, whether a responsibility exists to maintain access to [[Hyperlink|links]] (and therefore context) is debated, especially when considering the scope of such a task.<ref name="Lyman 412">Lyman, "World Wide Web," 41.</ref> Additionally, since publishing is not as delineated in the digital realm and preliminary versions of work are increasingly made available, knowing when to archive presents further complications.<ref name="Danner 6012">Richard A. Danner, [http://www.aallnet.org/products/pub_llj_v96n04/2004-38.pdf "Issues in the Preservation of Born-digital Scholarly Communications in Law,"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110125170708/http://www.aallnet.org/products/pub_llj_v96n04/2004-38.pdf |date=2011-01-25 }} ''Law Library Journal'' 96, no. 4 (2004), 601.</ref>

=== Relevance and [[Web accessibility|accessibility]] ===
For digital libraries and repositories that are used as reference materials, such as [[PBS]] [https://mpt.pbslearningmedia.org/ LearningMedia], which provides educational resources for teachers, staying relevance is of utmost importance.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Livanos-Propst|first=Athina|date=February 14, 2019|title=Developing Weeding Protocols for Born Digital Collections|url=https://journal.code4lib.org/articles/14162|journal=[[Code4Lib Journal]]|volume=43}}</ref> The information must be factually accurate and include context,<ref name=":4" /> while staying current to the website's main goals. As in the case of preservation, bit rot, link rot, and incompatibility negatively affect how users might access born-digital records, while mere functionality, e.g. video quality and legibility of any text, is also a concern. Additionally, considerations on how digital content can be inclusive of people with disabilities should be made, particularly in conjunction with [[Assistive technology|assistive technologies]] such as [[screen reader]]s, [[screen magnifier]]s, and [[Speech recognition|speech-to-text software]]. Access is also affected by licensing laws — the lack of [[ownership]] of their digital collections leaves libraries with nothing when their license expires, despite the costs already paid.<ref name="Calaba 23-52">Victor F. Calaba, [http://www.mttlr.org/volnine/calaba.pdf "Quibbles 'n Bits: Making a Digital First Sale Doctrine Feasible,"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100706023932/http://www.mttlr.org/volnine/calaba.pdf|date=2010-07-06}} ''Michigan Telecommunications and Technology Law Review'' 9, no. 1 (2002), 23-5</ref>
[[File:Open Access logo with dark text for contrast, on transparent background.png|alt=Open Access logo with dark text for contrast, on transparent background|right|thumb|[[Open access|Open Access]] logo, designed by the [[PLOS|Public Library of Science]]]]

=== Licensing ===
Laws created to protect the intellectual property were written for [[Analog recording|analog]] works; as such, provisions such as the [[first-sale doctrine]] of [[US copyright law]], which enables libraries to lend materials to patrons, have not been applied to the digital realm.<ref name="International 1542">NDIIPP et al., "International," 154.</ref><ref name="Lyman 442">Lyman, "World Wide Web," 44.</ref> Therefore, certain [[copyright]]ed digital content that is [[licensed]] rather than owned, as is common with many digital materials, is often of limited use since it cannot be transmitted to patrons at various [[computer]]s or lent through an [[interloan]] agreement. However, with regards to the [[Preservation (library and archival science)|preservation]] functions of libraries and [[archives]] and the subsequent need to make copies of born-digital materials, the laws of many countries have been changing, allowing for agreements to be made between these institutions and the rights holders of born-digital content.<ref name="International 1542" />

[[Consumer|Consumers]] have also had to deal with [[intellectual property]] as it concerns their ownership of and ability to control the born-digital material that they buy. [[Copyright infringement|Piracy]] proves to be a bigger problem with digital objects, including those that are born-digital, because such materials can be copied and spread in perfect condition with speed and distance on a scale inconceivable for traditional print and physical materials.<ref name="Calaba 82">Calaba, "Quibbles," 8.</ref> Again, the [[first-sale doctrine]], which, from a consumer standpoint, allows purchasers of materials to sell or give away items (such as [[books]] and [[Compact disc|CDs]]), is not yet applied effectively to digital objects. Three reasons for this have been identified by Victor Calaba: "...first, license agreements imposed by software manufacturers typically prohibit exercise of the first sale doctrine; second, traditional copyright law may not support application of the first sale doctrine to digital works; finally, the {{bracket|Digital Millennium Copyright Act
}} functionally prevents users from making copies of [[digitized]] works and prohibits the necessary bypassing of access control mechanisms to facilitate a transfer."<ref name="Calaba 92">Calaba, "Quibbles," 9.</ref>

Increasingly, institutions are more interested in [[Subscription business model|subscribing]] to digital versions of journals, something observed as some scholarly journals have unbundled their print and electronic editions and allowed for separate subscription; these trends have created questions about the economic sustainability of print publication. Major journals such as the [[American Chemical Society]] have made significant changes to their print editions in order to cut costs, and many others predict an exclusively digital future.<ref name="Timmer2">John Timmer, [https://arstechnica.com/science/news/2009/08/publisher-were-somewhere-on-the-road-to-pure-digital.ars "Print, beware! Publishers are "on the road" to pure digital,"] ''Ars Technica'' (August 13, 2009).</ref> The increasing subscription prices and predatory practices of scholarly journals, however, provided impetus for the [[Open access|Open Access Movement]], which advocates for free, unrestricted access to scholarly papers.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Tennant|first1=Jonathan P.|last2=Waldner|first2=François|last3=Jacques|first3=Damien C.|last4=Masuzzo|first4=Paola|last5=Collister|first5=Lauren B.|last6=Hartgerink|first6=Chris. H. J.|date=2016-09-21|title=The academic, economic and societal impacts of Open Access: an evidence-based review|journal=F1000Research|volume=5|page=632|doi=10.12688/f1000research.8460.3|pmc=4837983|pmid=27158456 |doi-access=free }}</ref>


==See also==
==See also==
*[[E-flux|e-Flux]]
*[[Digital artifactual value]]
*[[Digital artifactual value]]
*[[Digital curation]]
*[[Digital curation]]
*[[Legal deposit]]
*[[National edeposit]], Australia's system for depositing, storing and managing all born-digital documents published in Australia
*[[Virtual artifact]]
*[[Virtual artifact]]

==Notes==
<references/>


==References==
==References==
<references/>
*Barata, Kimberly. "Archives in the Digital Age," ''Journal of the Society of Archivists'' 25, no. 1, 2004.
*Brylawski, Samuel. "Preservation of Digitally Recorded Sound." In ''Building a National Strategy for Digital Preservation: Issues in Digital Media Archiving''. Council on Library and Information Resources and Library of Congress (April 2002), http://www.clir.org/pubs/reports/pub106/pub106.pdf.
*Calaba, Victor F. "Quibbles 'n Bits: Making a Digital First Sale Doctrine Feasible." ''Michigan Telecommunications and Technology Law Review'' 9, no. 1 (2002), https://web.archive.org/web/20100706023932/http://www.mttlr.org/volnine/calaba.pdf.
*Danner, Richard A. "Issues in the Preservation of Born-digital Scholarly Communications in Law." ''Law Library Journal'' 96, no. 4 (2004), http://www.aallnet.org/products/pub_llj_v96n04/2004-38.pdf.
*Eaton, Lance. "Books Born Digital." ''Library Journal'', May 15, 2009.
*Friedlander, Amy. "Summary of Findings." In ''Building a National Strategy for Digital Preservation: Issues in Digital Media Archiving''. Council on Library and Information Resources and Library of Congress (April 2002), http://www.clir.org/pubs/reports/pub106/pub106.pdf.
*Hoek, D.J. "The Download Dilemma." ''American Libraries'', August/September 2009.
*"Introduction&nbsp;– Definitions and Concepts." Digital Preservation Coalition, https://web.archive.org/web/20080506113234/http://www.dpconline.org/graphics/intro/definitions.html (accessed December 7, 2009).
*Lazinger, Susan S. "Issues of Policy and Practice in Digital Preservation." In ''Digital Libraries: Policy, Planning, and Practice'', edited by Judith Andrews and Derek Law, 99-112. Burlington: Ashgate, 2004.
*The Library of Congress National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program, the Joint Information Systems Committee, The Open Access to Knowledge (OAK) Law Project, and the SURFfoundation. "International Study on the Impact of Copyright Law on Digital Preservation." https://web.archive.org/web/20091229074708/http://www.digitalpreservation.gov/library/resources/pubs/docs/digital_preservation_final_report2008.pdf.
*Lyman, Peter. "Archiving the World Wide Web." In ''Building a National Strategy for Digital Preservation: Issues in Digital Media Archiving''. Council on Library and Information Resources and Library of Congress (April 2002), http://www.clir.org/pubs/reports/pub106/pub106.pdf.
*Mahesh, G. and Rekha Mittal. "Digital Content Creation and Copyright Issues." ''The Electronic Library'' 27, no 4 (2008), http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/viewPDF.jsp?contentType=Article&Filename=html/Output/Published/EmeraldFullTextArticle/Pdf/2630270408.pdf.
*NDIIPP. "Preserving Digital Culture." Library of Congress, http://www.digitalpreservation.gov/swf/activity.swf (accessed December 7, 2009).
*Romano, Frank. "E-Books and the Challenge of Preservation." In ''Building a National Strategy for Digital Preservation: Issues in Digital Media Archiving'', Council on Library and Information Resources and Library of Congress (April 2002), http://www.clir.org/pubs/reports/pub106/pub106.pdf.
*Ross, Seamus. ''Changing Trains at Wigan: Digital Preservation and the Future of Scholarship'', National Preservation Office (London: British Library, 2000), Occasional Publication, {{ISBN|0-7123-4717-8}} http://www.bl.uk/blpac/pdf/wigan.pdf
*Ross, Seamus. 'Approaching Digital Preservation Holistically', in ''Information Management and Preservation'', (Oxford: Chandos Press, 2006), 115-153.
*Ross, Seamus. ''Digital Preservation, Archival Science and Methodological Foundations for Digital Libraries'', Keynote Address at the 11th European Conference on Digital Libraries (ECDL), Budapest (17 September 2007), https://web.archive.org/web/20100108054647/http://www.ecdl2007.org/Keynote_ECDL2007_SROSS.pdf.
*Thilbodeau, Kenneth. "Building the Archives of the Future," ''D-Lib Magazine'' 7, no. 2 February 2001. http://www.dlib.org/dlib/february01/thibodeau/02thibodeau.html (accessed December 7, 2009).
*Timmer, John. "Print, beware! Publishers are "on the road" to pure digital," ''Ars Technica'', August 13, 2009. https://arstechnica.com/science/news/2009/08/publisher-were-somewhere-on-the-road-to-pure-digital.ars (accessed December 7, 2009).
*Ulanoff, Lance. "PC Magazine Goes 100% Digital: An Open letter to PC Magazine (Print) Readers," ''PC Magazine'', November 19, 2008. https://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2335009,00.asp (accessed December 8, 2009).
*Weinman, Sarah. "Harlequin launches digital-only imprint. Will other big houses feel the romance?" ''Daily Finance'', November 10, 2009. http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/11/10/harlequin-launches-digital-only-imprint-will-other-big-houses-f/ (accessed December 7, 2009).
*"What musical artists are winning in this digital decade?" ''USA Today'', December 8, 2009. https://www.usatoday.com/life/music/news/2009-12-08-musicdecade08_TB_N.htm (accessed December 8, 2009).


[[Category:Library science terminology]]
[[Category:Library science terminology]]
[[Category:Academic publishing]]
[[Category:Academic publishing]]
[[Category:Publishing]]
[[Category:Publishing terminology]]
[[Category:Digital media]]
[[Category:Digital media]]
[[Category:Records management]]
[[Category:Records management]]
[[Category:Online publishing]]

Latest revision as of 16:47, 30 April 2024

For the book by John Palfrey and Urs Gasser, see Born Digital.

The term born-digital refers to materials that originate in a digital form.[1] This is in contrast to digital reformatting, through which analog materials become digital, as in the case of files created by scanning physical paper records.[2][3] It is most often used in relation to digital libraries and the issues that go along with said organizations, such as digital preservation and intellectual property. However, as technologies have advanced and spread, the concept of being born-digital has also been discussed in relation to personal consumer-based sectors, with the rise of e-books and evolving digital music. Other terms that might be encountered as synonymous include "natively digital", "digital-first", and "digital-exclusive".[4][5]

Discrepancies in definition[edit]

There exists some inconsistency in defining born-digital materials. Some believe such materials must exist in digital form exclusively; in other words, if they can be transferred into a physical, analog form, they are not truly born-digital.[6] However, others maintain that while these materials will often not have a subsequent physical counterpart, having one does not bar them from being classified as 'born-digital'.[1] For instance, Mahesh and Mittal identify two types of born-digital content, "exclusive digital" and "digital for print", allowing for a broader base of classification than the former definition provides.[7]

Furthermore, it has been pointed out that certain works may incorporate components that are both born-digital and digitized, further blurring the lines between what should and should not be considered 'born-digital.' For example, a digital video created may utilize historical film footage that has been converted.[8] It is important to be aware of these discrepancies when thinking about born-digital materials and the effects they have. However, some universals do exist across these definitions. All make clear the fact that born-digital media must originate digitally. Also, they agree that this media must be able to be utilized in a digital form (whether exclusively or otherwise), while they do not have to exist or be used as analog materials.

Etymology[edit]

The term "born digital" is of uncertain origin. While it may have occurred to multiple people at various times, it was coined independently by web developer Randel (Rafi) Metz in 1993, who acquired the domain name "borndigital.com" then and sustained it as a personal website for 18 years until 2011. The domain is now owned by a web developer in New Zealand. The original website is archived here.

Examples of born-digital content[edit]

Grey literature and communications[edit]

Much of the grey literature that exists today are almost entirely conducted online, due in part to the accessibility and speed of internet communications.[9] As the products of the vast amount of information created by organizations and individuals on computers, data sets and electronic records must exist in the context of other activities.[10] Common content includes:

Digital photography[edit]

Digital photography has allowed larger groups of people to participate in the process, art form, and pastime of photography. With the advent of digital cameras in the late 1980s, followed by the invention and dissemination of mobile phones capable of photography, sales of digital cameras eventually surpassed that of analog cameras.[13] The early to mid 2000s saw the rise of photo storage websites, such as Flickr and Photobucket, and social media websites dedicated primarily to sharing digital photographs, including Instagram, Pinterest, Imgur, and Tumblr. Digital image files include Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG), Tagged Image File Format (TIFF), Portable Network Graphics (PNG), Graphic Interchange Format (GIF), and raw image format.[14]

logo of Adobe illustrator
Adobe Illustrator is a widely used graphic design and illustration software.

Digital art[edit]

Digital art is an umbrella term for art created with a computer. Types include visual media, digital animation, computer-aided design, 3D models and interactive art. Webcomics, comics published primarily on the internet, are an example of exclusively born-digital art. Webcomics follow the tradition of user-generated content and may later be printed by the creator, but as they were originally disseminated through the internet, they are considered to be born-digital media. Many webcomics are published on existing social media websites, while others use webcomic-specific platforms or their own domains.

Electronic books[edit]

Kindle 2, Kindle 3, and Kindle 4 shown side-by-side
Different generations of the Amazon Kindle, an e-reader device

E-books are books that can be read through the digital screens of computers, smartphones, or dedicated devices.[15] The e-book sector of the book industry has flourished in recent years, with increasing numbers of e-books and e-book readers being developed and sold. E-publishing is particularly favorable to independent authors, because the digital marketplace creates a more direct connection between authors, their works, and the audience.[16] Some publishing houses, including major ones such as Harlequin, have formed imprints for digital-only books in response to this trend.[17] Publishers also offer digital-exclusive publications for use on e-book readers, such as the Kindle. One example of this was with the simultaneous launch of Amazon's Kindle 2 with the Stephen King novelette Ur.[5] In recent years, however, the sale of e-books from traditional publishers has decreased, due in part to increasing prices.[18] [19]

Logo of the twilight zone, 2019. Subtitle reads "hosted by Jordan Peele"
The Twilight Zone is a 2019 web-exclusive remake of the original television series with the same name.

Video recordings[edit]

Videos that are born-digital vary in type and usage. Vlogs, an amalgamation of "video" and "blog," are streamed and consumed on video-sharing websites such as YouTube.

Similarly, a web series is a television-like show that is shown exclusively and/or initially on the internet. This does not include the streaming of pre-existing traditional television shows. Examples include Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog, The Lizzie Bennett Diaries, The Guild, and The Twilight Zone (2019).

Sound recordings[edit]

Digital sound recordings have played a role since the 1970s with the acceptance of pulse-code modulation (PCM) in the recording process.[20] Since then, numerous means of storing and delivering digital audio have been developed, including web streams, compact discs and mp3 audio files.[20] Increasingly, digital audio are only available via download, lacking any kind of tangible counterpart. One example of this trend is the 2008 recording of Hector Berlioz's Symphonie fantastique by Los Angeles Philharmonic under Gustavo Dudamel.[21] Available through download only, it has presented problems for libraries which may want to carry this work but cannot due to licensing limitations.[21] Another example is Radiohead's 2007 release In Rainbows, released initially as a digital download.[22]

The music industry has changed dramatically with the increase in digital music, specifically digital downloads. The digital format and consumers' growing comfort with it has led to rising sales in single tracks. This growth is clearly still underway, with all of the ten best-selling singles since 2000 having been released since 2007.[23] This does not necessarily signal the demise of CDs, as they are still more popular than digital albums, but it does show that this changing born-digital content is having a significant influence on sales and the industry.[23]

Other media[edit]

WebExhibits are websites that act as virtual museums for any variety of content. These often use both primary and secondary historical sources, maps, timelines, infographics, and other data visualizations to showcase the historical past. One example is Clio Visualizing History's Click! The Ongoing Feminist Revolution, a web exhibit about the American women's movement from the 1940s to the present. Clio Visualizing History was founded by Lola Van Wagenen in 1996 to meet the growing need for innovative history projects in multi-media platforms.

Journalism[edit]

As existing print publications migrated to born-digital releases, digital native news websites such as HuffPo and Buzzfeed News have grown substantially.[24] This trend toward web-exclusive content has seen the rise of "news applications," or news articles built with interactive features that cannot be replicated on print.[24] "News Apps" are often heavily data-driven, using interactive graphics custom-built for the story by a team of software specialists in addition to the core group of writers and editors.[25] Examples include Baltimore Homicides from The Baltimore Sun, Do No Harm from the Las Vegas Sun, and Snow Fall from The New York Times, which took a team of more than fifteen journalists, web developers, and designers to build.[24]

Key issues[edit]

Preservation[edit]

Digital preservation involves the conservation and maintenance of digital content. As with other digital objects, preservation must be a continuous and regular undertaking, as these materials do not show the same signs of degradation that print and other physical materials do. Invisible processes such as bit rot can lead to irreparable damage.[26] In the case of born-digital content, deterioration can occur in the form of bit rot, a process in which digital files degrade over time, and link rot, a process in which URLs link to pages on the internet that are no longer available.[27] Incompatibility is also a concern, in regard to the eventual obsolescence of both hardware and software capable of making sense of the documents.[28]

image of floppy disk on desk
A floppy disk requires obsolete technology in order to read its stored content.

Many questions arise regarding what should be archived and preserved and who should undertake the job. Vast amounts of born-digital content are created constantly and institutions are forced to decide what and how much should be saved. Because linking plays such a large role in the digital setting, whether a responsibility exists to maintain access to links (and therefore context) is debated, especially when considering the scope of such a task.[29] Additionally, since publishing is not as delineated in the digital realm and preliminary versions of work are increasingly made available, knowing when to archive presents further complications.[30]

Relevance and accessibility[edit]

For digital libraries and repositories that are used as reference materials, such as PBS LearningMedia, which provides educational resources for teachers, staying relevance is of utmost importance.[31] The information must be factually accurate and include context,[28] while staying current to the website's main goals. As in the case of preservation, bit rot, link rot, and incompatibility negatively affect how users might access born-digital records, while mere functionality, e.g. video quality and legibility of any text, is also a concern. Additionally, considerations on how digital content can be inclusive of people with disabilities should be made, particularly in conjunction with assistive technologies such as screen readers, screen magnifiers, and speech-to-text software. Access is also affected by licensing laws — the lack of ownership of their digital collections leaves libraries with nothing when their license expires, despite the costs already paid.[32]

Open Access logo with dark text for contrast, on transparent background
Open Access logo, designed by the Public Library of Science

Licensing[edit]

Laws created to protect the intellectual property were written for analog works; as such, provisions such as the first-sale doctrine of US copyright law, which enables libraries to lend materials to patrons, have not been applied to the digital realm.[33][34] Therefore, certain copyrighted digital content that is licensed rather than owned, as is common with many digital materials, is often of limited use since it cannot be transmitted to patrons at various computers or lent through an interloan agreement. However, with regards to the preservation functions of libraries and archives and the subsequent need to make copies of born-digital materials, the laws of many countries have been changing, allowing for agreements to be made between these institutions and the rights holders of born-digital content.[33]

Consumers have also had to deal with intellectual property as it concerns their ownership of and ability to control the born-digital material that they buy. Piracy proves to be a bigger problem with digital objects, including those that are born-digital, because such materials can be copied and spread in perfect condition with speed and distance on a scale inconceivable for traditional print and physical materials.[35] Again, the first-sale doctrine, which, from a consumer standpoint, allows purchasers of materials to sell or give away items (such as books and CDs), is not yet applied effectively to digital objects. Three reasons for this have been identified by Victor Calaba: "...first, license agreements imposed by software manufacturers typically prohibit exercise of the first sale doctrine; second, traditional copyright law may not support application of the first sale doctrine to digital works; finally, the [Digital Millennium Copyright Act ] functionally prevents users from making copies of digitized works and prohibits the necessary bypassing of access control mechanisms to facilitate a transfer."[36]

Increasingly, institutions are more interested in subscribing to digital versions of journals, something observed as some scholarly journals have unbundled their print and electronic editions and allowed for separate subscription; these trends have created questions about the economic sustainability of print publication. Major journals such as the American Chemical Society have made significant changes to their print editions in order to cut costs, and many others predict an exclusively digital future.[37] The increasing subscription prices and predatory practices of scholarly journals, however, provided impetus for the Open Access Movement, which advocates for free, unrestricted access to scholarly papers.[38]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b NDIIPP, "Preserving Digital Culture," Library of Congress.
  2. ^ "Born digital - Glossary - Federal Agencies Digitization Guidelines Initiative". digitizationguidelines.gov. Retrieved 2019-05-05.
  3. ^ a b "born digital | Society of American Archivists". www2.archivists.org. Retrieved 2019-05-05.
  4. ^ Susan S. Lazinger, "Issues of Policy and Practice in Digital Preservation," in Digital Libraries: Policy, Planning, and Practice, ed. Judith Andrews and Derek Law (Burlington: Ashgate, 2004), 100
  5. ^ a b Eaton, Lance (May 15, 2009). "Books born digital". Library Journal. 134 (9): 26.
  6. ^ "Introduction - Definitions and Concepts," Archived 2012-04-01 at the Wayback Machine Digital Preservation Coalition.
  7. ^ G. Mahesh and Rekha Mittal, "Digital Content Creation and Copyright Issues,"[permanent dead link] The Electronic Library 27, no 4 (2008), 678.
  8. ^ Amy Friedlander, "Summary of Findings" in Building a National Strategy for Digital Preservation: Issues in Digital Media Archiving, Archived 2017-07-10 at the Wayback Machine Council on Library and Information Resources and Library of Congress, 2.
  9. ^ Danner, Richard A. (2004). "Issues in the Preservation of Born-Digital Scholarly Communications in Law". Duke Law Scholarship Repository. Retrieved May 5, 2019.
  10. ^ Kenneth Thilbodeau, "Building the Archives of the Future," D-Lib Magazine 7, no. 2 (February 2001).
  11. ^ a b c d Archives, The National. "The National Archives - Homepage". The National Archives. Retrieved 2019-05-05.
  12. ^ Erway, Ricky (November 2010). "Defining "Born Digital"" (PDF). OCLC. Retrieved May 5, 2019.
  13. ^ "Digital outsells film, but film still king to some". Macworld. 2004-09-23. Retrieved 2019-05-05.
  14. ^ "Digital image file types". users.wfu.edu. Retrieved 2019-05-05.
  15. ^ Gardiner, Eileen and Ronald G. Musto. "The Electronic Book." In Suarez, Michael Felix, and H. R. Woudhuysen. The Oxford Companion to the Book. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010, p. 164.
  16. ^ Romano, "E-Books," 31.
  17. ^ Sarah Weinman, "Harlequin launches digital-only imprint. Will other big houses feel the romance?" Daily Finance, (November 10, 2009).
  18. ^ Rowe, Adam. "Traditional Publishing Ebook Sales Dropped 10% In 2017". Forbes. Retrieved 2019-05-05.
  19. ^ Romano, Frank. "E-Books and the Challenge of Preservation." Building a National Strategy for Digital Preservation: Issues in Digital Media Archiving. April 2002. Pg. 28
  20. ^ a b Samuel Brylawski, "Preservation of Digitally Recorded Sound" in Building a National Strategy for Digital Preservation: Issues in Digital Media Archiving, Archived 2017-07-10 at the Wayback Machine Council on Library and Information Resources and Library of Congress, 53.
  21. ^ a b D.J. Hoek, "The Download Dilemma," American Libraries (August/September 2009), 55.
  22. ^ Pareles, Jon (9 December 2007). "Pay What You Want for This Article".The New York Times. Retrieved 30 December 2007
  23. ^ a b "What Musical Artists are Winning in this Digital Decade?" USA Today (December 8, 2009).
  24. ^ a b c Boss, Katherine; Broussard, Meredith (2017). "Challenges of archiving and preserving born-digital news applications". IFLA Journal. 43 (2): 150–157. doi:10.1177/0340035216686355. ISSN 0340-0352. S2CID 114479438.
  25. ^ Gray, Jonathan; Bounegru, Liliana; Chambers, Lucy (2012). The Data Journalism Handbook (PDF). Sebastopol, CA: O’Reilly Media, Inc. ISBN 9781449330064.
  26. ^ NDIIPP et al., "International Study on the Impact of Copyright Law on Digital Preservation," Archived 2009-12-29 at the Wayback Machine 5.
  27. ^ Erway, Ricky (November 2010). "Defining "Born Digital"" (PDF). OCLC. Retrieved May 5, 2019.
  28. ^ a b Light, Michelle (May 14, 2010). Designing a Born-Digital Archive. UC Irvine: "Time Will Tell, But Epistemology Won't: In Memory of Richard Rorty" A Symposium to Celebrate Richard Rorty's Archive. Retrieved April 23, 2022.
  29. ^ Lyman, "World Wide Web," 41.
  30. ^ Richard A. Danner, "Issues in the Preservation of Born-digital Scholarly Communications in Law," Archived 2011-01-25 at the Wayback Machine Law Library Journal 96, no. 4 (2004), 601.
  31. ^ Livanos-Propst, Athina (February 14, 2019). "Developing Weeding Protocols for Born Digital Collections". Code4Lib Journal. 43.
  32. ^ Victor F. Calaba, "Quibbles 'n Bits: Making a Digital First Sale Doctrine Feasible," Archived 2010-07-06 at the Wayback Machine Michigan Telecommunications and Technology Law Review 9, no. 1 (2002), 23-5
  33. ^ a b NDIIPP et al., "International," 154.
  34. ^ Lyman, "World Wide Web," 44.
  35. ^ Calaba, "Quibbles," 8.
  36. ^ Calaba, "Quibbles," 9.
  37. ^ John Timmer, "Print, beware! Publishers are "on the road" to pure digital," Ars Technica (August 13, 2009).
  38. ^ Tennant, Jonathan P.; Waldner, François; Jacques, Damien C.; Masuzzo, Paola; Collister, Lauren B.; Hartgerink, Chris. H. J. (2016-09-21). "The academic, economic and societal impacts of Open Access: an evidence-based review". F1000Research. 5: 632. doi:10.12688/f1000research.8460.3. PMC 4837983. PMID 27158456.
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