This article originated in the author’s conversations with Luigi Crocetti – one of the most distinguished Italian librarians of the twentieth century – leading to some reflections on the long-term preservation of born-digital personal archives. In particular, a few ongoing projects are considered, including the personal archive of the writer Salman Rashdie donated to the Emory University Library (USA), and the PAD program at the University of Pavia, to highlight the different approaches that digital archives require compared to paper archives.