Electronic Records in the Manuscript Repository defines the problems related to electronic records and digital documents, describes the steps the curator should take to manage those electronic records and digital documents, and suggests ways to learn the specific skills and perspectives needed to do the job well.

It provides an introduction to vocabulary, basic concepts, and best practices to date by collecting and contextualizing data from several real-world projects, and it contains almost 30 pages of references to resources that the curator can consult for information on specific topics. Dow starts with a review of archival concepts, including a look at archival practices, and then discusses the problems created by electronic materials in that context, as well as the research in progress to tackle these problems.