Personal digital archives : state of the art guidelines in North America, Australasia and Europe

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to analyze the good-practice projects and guidelines about personal digital archives produced by organizations, institutions and other entities in North America, Australasia and Europe. Method/approach: The analysis method builds on the literature review and on the analysis of selected sources focusing on official handbooks and websites for personal digital archiving. Results: In 2023, digital personal archives were reconfirmed as a critically endangered category and attention to the issue was limited to the English and Dutch-speaking world. Citizens in many countries do not have an online reference point, such as institutional websites of libraries and research centers, where they can request and find information on how to manage their personal digital archives. Conclusions/findings: Although almost everyone today produces digital documents, experiencing their loss or difficulty in retrieval, the possible solutions related to the management and preservation of one’s digital materials are not yet fully understood or considered. Research centers and public libraries should bring a greater attention to the problem and spread the knowledge based on the results already produced by international organizations, that will arouse the interest of citizens in some accessible security measures. Keywords: archives, digital archives, personal archives, personal memories, personal digital archives.