The monks in the Scriptoria of the monasteries working at the production of the magnificent mediaeval illuminated manuscripts were, I am sure, at times tempted to alter the wording of texts to enable a page to be better presented visually. I am equally sure that they were constrained by the realisation that the over-riding need was to transmit the information on the pages of the Bible accurately to future generations. The same basic constraint must be applied to any archival copying of original material. Modern copying does, however, give rise to several additional layers of concern. The monks only copied the words on the page and not the stains that may have accumulated.
Modern copies can include the words plus the stains, watermarks, comments in the margins etc.
With sound recordings, the hiss, clicks and bumps and with moving images and photographs the scratches and other blemishes can also be copied. This additional information is part of the history of the document. If we examine the world of art and painting we find a constant debate in progress about the results of restoring pictures. Some people like the bright, fresh colours re-discovered under centuries of accumulated grime. Others say that the artists anticipated the gloom cast by generations of smoking candles and oil lamps and call the restorers vandals.