As defined in ‘A Dictionary of Computer Science’, emails (e-mail, electronic mail) are “messages sent between users of computer systems, the computer systems being used to hold and transport messages…Messages can be sent with file attachments, providing a way of exchanging files with other users.”
The guidance is aimed at archive practitioners with no experience in email preservation. However, we do recommend completing Novice to Know How: Email Preservation online training before using this guidance. A full text version of the training (PDF, 4.5 MB) is also available. This learning pathway was developed by the Digital Preservation Coalition, in collaboration with The National Archives (UK). It was conceived of and funded by The National Archives (UK) as part of the ‘Plugged In, Powered Up’ digital capacity building strategy. This guidance occasionally quotes from the training and it broadly follows the same format to ensure consistency in approach.
Terminology is explained in the Novice to Know How: Email Preservation Glossary (PDF, 165 KB) and where relevant we signpost to this. In the guidance we refer to ‘digital content’ or ‘content’ – this is what we hope to preserve. Digital preservation literature often calls these ‘digital objects’.
Archive practitioners and records managers can use this workflow guidance as a starting point to develop their own workflows. However, it should not be taken too literally – your workflow should be based on local needs and circumstances. Each step includes links to software, online training and further guidance such as links to documentation, blogs and videos. The authors would like to thank and acknowledge those archive practitioners and records managers who reviewed this guidance and provided feedback.
The guidance is arranged in four sections covering the following workflows: