The nature of archives has been defined over time according to the use made of them. The records of an archival fonds have been considered facts, acts, sources, evidences and, in more recent times, equated with information and even knowledge. This evolution is mostly linked to the use of digital technology for creating records and the consequent blurring of the boundaries among the various types of digital objects generated within electronic systems. This trend is undermining our ability to create records that are reliable and to maintain archives so that they can be proven authentic over the long term. It is therefore essential to re-establish a concept of archives based on the circumstances of its creation, to define the characteristics that distinguish records from any other digital entity, and to protect them in trusted recordkeeping system capable of ensuring that their nature will be altered intentionally or accidentally
