This course will introduce students to the methods, tools, and workflows that archivists use to process born-digital archival materials for preservation and access. Through a combination of lectures, demonstrations, readings, activities for testing and exploration, and a cumulative set of assignments using example records, students will gain hands-on experience with a suite of open source software tools used to acquire, appraise, arrange, describe, make accessible, store, and preserve digital archival materials.

Students will attain an understanding of the fundamental aspects of digital records and computing systems, build experience with the systems and infrastructures that enable and support digital archives work, apply methods for documenting workflows, and engage in current issues and debates affecting the work of digital archivists. The focus of the course will be on born-digital archival records, though issues regarding digitized archival materials will also be discussed. The course will bridge the theories and methods for archival functions taught in the required courses of the ARM concentration with the opportunities and challenges presented by working with digital records, including identifying how core principles apply or require rethinking in digital environments.