Identifying Individual and Institutional Motivations in Personal Digital Archiving

Personal digital archiving (PDA) is a relatively new field. As it has developed, two distinct personas have emerged: the individual person, seeking to capture and archive their own or someone else’s personal digital materials; and the institution—including museums, libraries, and archives—attempting to acquire and manage personal digital materials. In doing so, institutions also advocate for the preservation and management of personal digital archives and digital file management practices held in private hands. However, individuals and institutions make different choices in terms of curation and management, based on skills, knowledge, purpose, function and economics. Understanding these differences can aid institutional support for personal archives, as well as help to build collaborative frameworks to help personal and institutional differences be better understood. This paper identifies the similarities and differences in motivation and approach between individual and institutional practices and perspectives in PDA.