Step 4 – Documentation

Documentation is necessary

Establish good documentation practices. Good documentation makes it much easier to find relevant audio or video records and to learn about the history of the information.

Documentation (also known as “metadata”) for each electronic media item should include all of the following:

• when and how it was recorded
• type of information contained
• what happened to the original record
• how the material has been used (especially its playing history)
• all data migrations or reformatting procedures (accompanied by technical details) that have taken place

Create manuals

Technical and procedural details used in reformatting should be included in manuals that explain each item step-by-step. These manuals need to be updated every time a new procedure is carried out. The manuals will not only help in the development of standard practices but can also be used to instruct staff on the appropriate procedures to follow for digital collections.