Levels of Born-Digital Access

Note: This is a copy of the report available with the same DOI under https://osf.io/hqmy4/

Introduction

Providing access to archival materials in any format requires finding a balance between two responsibilities. First, to provide
equitable and open access to collections for current researchers. Secondly, to take necessary security measures to protect
and preserve the integrity of collections so that they will continue to be available for future researchers. The Levels of Born-Digital
Access project was developed by an inter-institutional group of archivists and information professionals as part of the Digital Library
Federation (DLF) Born-Digital Access Working Group. Conceived in response to the need for the development of standards and benchmarks to be shared by the professional community, and informed by our Shared Values, the Levels present five areas of consideration organized into three levels of complexity, from minimal to advanced.
This document aims to contextualize the history, use, and scope of the Levels, as well as address sustainability methods for future work. For accessibility purposes, this document is also available in Google Drive.

Early drafts of the Access Levels included a number of recommendations that either encouraged or built upon activities and practices related to digital preservation standards, including ISO 14721 and ISO 16363. This stemmed from the authors’ belief that if an institution has endeavored to collect and make accessible borndigital material, it should be prepared to be held accountable to the standards that guide its long-term care. However, this strategy was abandoned in favor of an approach that focused more narrowly on access in and of itself. We intend that this document work in concert with digital preservation-focused literature such as the National Digital Stewardship Alliance (NDSA) Levels of Preservation in order to reinforce the correlation between preservation and access.