Transfers

 

Born digital collection material can be acquired through file transfer or forensic imaging. The workflows vary based on media types and file types encountered but the general steps are as follows:

  1. Image or transfer files from the media object.
  2. Acquiring basic metadata about the media and files.
  3. Preparing the files for later archival processing.

File Transfers

During the file transfer process, some or all of the files are transferred from the original media using standard file copying tools. Processing archivists may assist in determining which files to transfer. The most common method of transfer uses a Bagit script via command line.

Forensic Imaging

Forensic imaging is reserved for cases where imaging facilitates viewing or accessing material. For instance, some legacy file formats cannot be viewed on recent operating systems. Imaging this material allows it to be viewed in an emulator. Floppy disks and Iomega disks are usually imaged. Forensic imaging may also be used as a fallback method when file transfers are unsuccessful.

Transfer Pages

Pages in this section describe preparing for transfer, using write blockers, transfer methods, and completing transfer.

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