Reference is increasingly made to ‘digital collections’, yet this term encompasses accumulated digital objects of varying form, purpose and value. We review social science literature on mate-rial collections and draw from in-depth interviews with 20 peo-ple in the UK in order to offer a clearer understanding of what constitutes a digital collection and what does not. We develop a taxonomy that presents three distinct types of digital collection and demonstrate ways in which the affordances of digital envi-ronments may facilitate or impede meaningful practices of ac-quisition, curation and exhibition in each case. Through doing so, we present a framework for design in support of collecting prac-tices and the development of more meaningful and valued digital collections.