Selective Exclusion of Digital Resources

Contents

The following categories and formats of digital resources are excluded by some national bibliographic agencies and may be of use to other NBAs developing or their own selection policies.

  • Software applications (Apps)
  • Bulletin boards
  • Chat rooms
  • Cookies
  • Databases primarily containing statistical and other raw data (e.g. datasets). However, some NBAs are becoming increasingly concerned about scientific research that is only captured in datasets.
  • Duplicates of print and other analogue resources
  • Emails
  • Games
  • Informal or incomplete resources (e.g. works in progress, preprints, selected parts of a larger resource)
  • Newsgroups
  • Newspapers i.e. online versions for which print equivalents exist. However some national bibliographic agencies consider newspapers of great importance.
  • Organizational records
  • Retail/advertising sites
  • Theses/dissertations (providing that they are collected by other bodies (e.g. universities); however some national bibliographic agencies consider these materials of great importance.

While some NBAs currently deselect the above resources, arguments can be suggested for the inclusion of some categories e.g.:

  • Games are beginning to be viewed as learning tools for the young children. Will future researchers require samples of these to see how they evolve in sophistication to support the teaching/learning process?
  • Will samples of retail/advertising sites assist research by future social scientists into the changing cultural and social environment?
  • Will vital groundbreaking research recorded solely in datasets be lost if NBAs do not collect and record them in the national bibliography?