The following glossary briefly defines selected terms used in this guide. The sources are indicated in parentheses at the end of each definition.

• Digital Preservation - Managed series of iterative steps, processes, software, and systems to ensure the security, accessibility, integrity, and access to digital objects for as long as they are needed. (https://www.dpconline.org/handbook/glossary External)
• Fixity - The process by which changes to files are detected. Fixity is frequently established through checksums, an alphanumeric string that changes when a file is altered. (https://dictionary.archivists.org/entry/checksum.html External)
• Interoperable - Interoperable formats are designed to be accessed and shared by different software and systems. (https://dictionary.archivists.org/entry/interoperability.html External)
• Lossless - An compressed or uncompressed format in which no data is eliminated to make a file smaller. (https://dictionary.archivists.org/entry/lossless.html External)
• Machine-readable - A medium requiring a machine to make it understandable to humans. (https://dictionary.archivists.org/entry/machine-readable.html External)
• Open-source software - Free software developed and improved by community members and distributed under a General Public License. (https://dictionary.archivists.org/entry/open-source-software.html External)
• Open standard - Formal specifications published so that systems, formats, or software can be built to work together. (https://dictionary.archivists.org/entry/open-standard.html External)
• Text Encoding Initiative (TEI) - Guidelines for encoding text into XML with a concentration on encoding social science and humanities texts. (https://dictionary.archivists.org/entry/text-encoding-initiative.html External)
• Verovio - Open source, online engraving tool that renders musical notation graphics from MEI files. Upload MEI files to the Verovio website. No software dependencies. (https://www.verovio.org/index.xhtml External)
• XML - Extensible Markup Language. A flexible text format that represents and promotes the exchange of structured data, including music notation. (https://www.dpconline.org/handbook/glossary External ; https://www.w3.org/XML/ External)