Abstract
Some archives have been quick to respond to the crisis in audio preservation brought on by the combined forces of obsolescence and degradation inherent in legacy audio formats and their playback equipment. These archives have undertaken digitization projects for particular collections or, in a few cases, have digitized the bulk of their audio holdings for preservation. Based on an examination of the literature on audio preservation, however, the responses of some institutions—particularly small and midsized institutions—have been stymied by roadblocks related to cost and expertise. Given the limited time available for archives to migrate audio content, this uneven response threatens to leave an incomplete audio legacy, weighted toward grant-worthy collections with few copyright restrictions at larger, better-resourced institutions. After a review of relevant literature, this article suggests interventions institutions of all sizes can undertake to respond to the crisis in audio preservation including stringent selection and reappraisal projects, strategies for tiered audio digitization using a combination of in-house and vendor-based services, and suggestions for increasing access to high-quality digitization for worthy audio materials.
Highlights
It is well documented in the professional literature that without broad collaboration on audio digitization at regional, national, and international levels, we will be left with an uneven national record of our cultural, scientific, and historical heritage.[1]
The audio preservation community has come to a consensus that reformatting to digital file formats is the preferred method for long-term preservation of both analog and digital (e.g., CDs and minidiscs) audio recordings.[3]
A 2010 OCLC study estimates that audiovisual holdings increased an astonishing 300 percent in research libraries and archives between 1998 and 2010.4 Given the growing numbers of these items in recent years, archivists who work with audio collections have increasingly called for more attention to reappraisal and preservation-quality digitization of analog audio formats
Summary
It is well documented in the professional literature that without broad collaboration on audio digitization at regional, national, and international levels, we will be left with an uneven national record of our cultural, scientific, and historical heritage.[1]. Proper physical preservation of aging audio materials, including providing archival housing and storage environments, can often extend their useful lives, but physical preservation alone will not solve problems of format obsolescence or catastrophic deterioration, to which some formats are prone.[2] The audio preservation community has come to a consensus that reformatting to digital file formats is the preferred method for long-term preservation of both analog (e.g., cassette tapes and grooved discs) and digital (e.g., CDs and minidiscs) audio recordings.[3] Even with these preservation challenges, audiovisual materials continue to be a growing segment of library and archival collections.
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