Abstract:
Audio recordings may be the most endangered of Americas collections, due to rapidly deteriorating media material, the scarcity of equipment for playback, and the diminishing numbers of professionals who have the skills for repairing legacy equipment and reformatting audio using traditional analog methods. The evidence for the size of the problem may be found in a variety of studies prompted by the National Recording Preservation Act of 2000 (H.R.4846). The resulting National Recording Preservation Plan by the Library of Congress and the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) was released in 2012.
Editor’s note:PDT&C has as one of its goals disseminating information about preserving cultural heritage, and notifying its readers about services available to achieve this end. NEDCC, a non-profit organization, is an important resource for the preservation of audio media. It was the first independent conservation laboratory in the United States to specialize exclusively in treating collections made of paper or parchment, such as works of art, photographs, books, maps, and manuscripts. The Center also offers digital imaging services, as well as training, consultations, and disaster advice for collections.
References
The Library of Congress National Recording Preservation Plan. Council on Library and Information Research Publication, no. 156. Washington, D.C.: CLIR and the Library of Congress, 2012. See http://www.loc.gov/programs/static/national-recording-preservation-plan/publications-and-reports/documents/NRPPLANCLIRpdfpub156.pdf (accessed October 5, 2017).Search in Google Scholar
Lyons, Bertram, Rebecca Chandler, and Chris Lacinak. “AV Preserve; Quantifying the Need: A Survey of Existing Sound Recordings in Collections in the United States.” See http://www.avpreserve.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/QuantifyingTheNeed.pdf (accessed August 30, 2017).Search in Google Scholar
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