A clipboard was a simple stationary holder, dating back to the 20th century, consisting of a thin board with a clip at the top for holding paper, sometimes containing a cover.
In 1930, a clipboard was visible on a desk in the back room of the 21st Street Mission where a cordrazine-overdosed Leonard McCoy was recovering. (TOS: "The City on the Edge of Forever")
Clipboards were used through the mid-23rd century where they were for delivering reports on board Federation starships. These clipboards had a lid customized with the Earth-Federation logo and starship's name. (TOS: "The Cage") These clipboards were used until at least 2265. (TOS: "Where No Man Has Gone Before")
Science officer Dimitri Valtane held an electronic clipboard with a report regarding the completed mission of the USS Excelsior in 2293. (Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, VOY: "Flashback")
In 2372, the Julian Bashir, Secret Agent character Honey Bare held a clipboard. (DS9: "Our Man Bashir")
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In the case of Dr. Elizabeth Dehner from "Where No Man Has Gone Before", this form of "space clipboard" was given to actress Sally Kellerman because she felt embarrassed that her tight Starfleet uniform costume was particularly close-fitting at her crotch area, a problem that director James Goldstone intended to cover up (and successfully did so) by instructing the propman to provide her with such a prop. (Inside Star Trek: The Real Story, p. 84)
The final draft script of TOS: "Dagger of the Mind" referred to a "Feinburg clipboard", referencing Irving A. Feinberg.