Is there a box of reel-to-reel tape you've been ignoring? Is there a stack of ancient 78's or acetate discs sitting next to your radiator gathering dust?
If they stay where they are, you won't have to worry about what to do with them. They'll self-destruct and be ready for the circular file!
In the past audio recordings and other non-print sources of documentation
have been overlooked. Today, however, awareness of these items is growing
and with it, demand. Radio, television and CD Rom producers have made use
of many sound collections for broadcast documentaries and multimedia learning
aids aimed at consumers, schools and libraries.
As a result, the collection
you have may not only be useful to scholars and researchers, but, given
copyright clearance, may help your institution generate revenue as budgets
tighten.
Too often these collections have been put aside by librarians and archivists who have neither the funds nor technology to preserve and transfer the contents to more stable media. Many times this is because the materials are simply inaccessible because of obsolete formats. In other cases the items themselves have been neglected to the extent that they have deteriorated and are unplayable. Without proper attention, our audio heritage will literally turn to dust or just flake away. What can librarians and archivists do?
A two-step preservation program of evaluation, then implementation, will insure that your audio legacy does not turn to dust. This program includes: a) a clear determination of audio formats; b) assessment of their condition and quantity; c) restoration and cleaning; and d) archival transfers.
ANDY LANSET - SOUND PRESERVATION
Member of: Audio Engineering Society (AES), The Association of Independents in Radio (AIR), and The Association of Recorded Sound Collections (ARSC). My workspace is set up for archival quality audio preservation transfers. I have been consulted and contracted on audio preservation projects by Columbia University, New York University - Wagner Labor Archives, The Cleveland Public Library, The YIVO Institute, Cornell University, Department of Defense, The New York City Municipal Archives, WNYC, Museum of the Chinese in America, Sound Portraits Productions and The Philadelphia Jewish Archive among others. References will be supplied upon request.