Categories

Categories are used to group entries of a similar nature together, to aid discovery and identification. The categories employed within the Bit List are:

Apps

Apps or Applications are types of software designed to perform specific tasks or functions for a user. In The category includes apps which run on various devices, including smartphones and tablets, computers and web browsers.

Cloud

The cloud refers to a network of remote servers hosted on the internet that store, manage, and process data, rather than using a local server or personal computer.

Community Archives

Community Archives are collections of materials that document the history, culture, and experiences of a specific community, often created, maintained, and controlled by members of that community themselves.

Databases

A database is an organized collection of data that is stored and accessed electronically. Databases are designed to efficiently store, retrieve, and manage data, making them essential for everything from websites and apps to enterprise systems and research projects.

Engineering Data

Engineering data refers to the technical information and measurements used in the design, development, analysis, and maintenance of engineering systems, products, or processes.

Formats

File formats are standard ways that information is encoded for storage in a computer file. It defines how data is organized and what kind of content the file contains—such as text, images, audio, video, or structured data.

Gaming

This category includes not only video games themselves but also the environments in which they have been played, user-generated content, and the social interactions they have facilitated.

Integrated Storage

Integrated Storage refers to a unified system that combines multiple types of storage technologies—such as hard disk drives (HDDs), solid-state drives (SSDs), and cloud storage—into a single, cohesive framework.

Legal Data

Legal data refers to digital information that has legal significance and must be preserved to meet regulatory, compliance, or evidentiary requirements. This could include contracts and agreements, client records in law firms, email communications relevant to litigation, Government records subject to public access laws, audit trails and logs for compliance as well as metadata that proves provenance and authenticity.

Media Art

Media art is a form of artistic expression that uses digital, electronic, or multimedia technologies as a central part of its creation, presentation, or experience. It often blends traditional art forms with new media tools to explore innovative ways of storytelling, interaction, and aesthetics.

Museum and Gallery

Museum and Gallery data includes all digital information generated or maintained by museums and galleries about their collections, operations, and exhibitions. This encompasses both digitized materials (converted from physical formats) and born-digital content (created in digital form).

Orphaned Works

Orphaned works are creative works—such as books, films, photographs, music, or artworks—for which the copyright holder cannot be identified or located, even after a diligent search. This makes it difficult or impossible to obtain permission to preserve this work.

Personal Archives

Personal archives are collections of materials created, received, or accumulated by individuals that document their personal, professional, or creative lives. These could include emails and correspondence, photographs and videos, social media posts, blogs, academic or professional work, digital art or creative projects as well as legal and financial documents.

Political Data

Political data refers to digital content that is either created for political purposes (e.g. election data, legislative records, political speeches, campaign materials) or is material which has been influenced by political decisions and sensitivities.

Portable Media

Portable media refers to removable storage devices that are used to store, transfer, or back up digital data. These devices are designed to be easily transported and connected to different computers or systems.

Public Records

Public records are any digital or digitized documents created or received by government bodies or public institutions in the course of their official duties.

Research Outputs

Research outputs are the results or products of scholarly, scientific or creative research activities. These outputs are created during or after a research project and are intended to communicate findings, contribute to knowledge or demonstrate impact.

Sensitive Data

Sensitive data refers to digital information that requires special handling due to its confidential, personal, classified, or culturally restricted nature. It may include Personally Identifiable Information (PII) like names, addresses, national IDs, medical records, financial details; Confidential Business or Institutional Data like Internal reports, proprietary research, strategic plans; Classified Government Data like national security documents, intelligence reports; Culturally Sensitive Materials like indigenous knowledge, sacred texts, or images with access restrictions as well as Legal and Regulatory Data like data protected under laws like GDPR, HIPAA, or FOIA.

Social Media

Social media refers to digital platforms and technologies that enable users to create, share, and interact with content and with each other in real time. These platforms are designed for communication, community building, content sharing, and networking as may include: Facebook, Twitter/X, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, YouTube, Reddit etc.

Software

Software refers to a set of instructions, programs, or data used to operate computers and perform specific tasks. Unlike hardware, which is the physical component of a computer, software is intangible and consists of code written in programming languages.

Sound and Vision

Sound and vision refers to a category of digital materials that includes audio and visual content—either separately or combined.

Web

Web refers to the vast and dynamic collection of digital content published online, including websites, blogs, social media, multimedia, and interactive platforms.