AES Los Angeles 2014
Workshop W4
Friday, October 10, 2:00 pm — 3:30 pm (Room 408 B)
W4 - The End Is Near! The Pressing Need to Preserve Historic Analog Sound Recordings: An Overview of Strategies and Best Practices
Chair:Konrad Strauss, Indiana University - Bloomington, IN, USA
Panelists:
George Massenburg, Schulich School of Music, McGill University - Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Brad McCoy, Library of Congress - Culpeper, VA, USA
John Spencer, BMS Chace LLC - Nashville, TN, USA
Nadja Wallaszkovits, Phonogrammarchiv, Austrian Academy of Science - Vienna, Austria
Abstract:
The National Recording Preservation Plan, published in December 2012, identifies in excess of 46 million audio recordings held by the nation's libraries, archives, museums, record companies, and private collectors that are in need of preservation. The window of time to preserve these recordings is rapidly closing; some experts believe that we have as little as 15 years left. Archivists, librarians, engineers, and studio owners will encounter increased demand for preservation and digitization services in the coming years. This workshop, presented by the Association for Recorded Sound Collections http://www.arsc-audio.org, will focus on best practices for preserving and migrating analog audio recordings. Experts in the field will discuss strategies for extending the lifetime of the original media; building and equipping a studio for audio preservation; proper handling, cleaning, and restoration of original media; maintaining & optimizing playback machines; and building a digital infrastructure for preserving digital files.
