40th Annual ARSC Conference
(Seattle, Washington, May 17- 20, 2006)
Pre-Conference Workshop
The Association for Recorded Sound Collections,
Education and Training Committee and the Unviersity of Washington Libraries'
Kenneth S. Allen Library Endowment presents:
A Tutorial on the Preservation of Audio in the Digital Domain
Wednesday, May 17, 2006, 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM
Bainbridge Room
Thanks to the Audio Engineering Society, Pacific Northwest Section
for its generous support of the pre-conference workshop.
Sound archives have reached a critical point in their history marked
by the simultaneous rapid deterioration of unique or rare original materials,
the development of expensive and powerful new digital technologies,
and the consequent decline of analog formats and media. It is clear
to many sound archivists that, for both technical and economic reasons,
analog-based preservation methods are no longer viable and new strategies
must be developed in the digital domain. This tutorial will introduce
the basics of preserving audio in the digital domain, addressing some
of the difficult equipment, technical metadata, and storage issues that
must be resolved if enduring preservation is to be achieved. Archivists,
librarians, collection managers, preservationists, and others who work
with archival sound recordings will gain specific information that will
help them formulate solid preservation strategies as well as understand
the questions and issues that must be raised in working with IT personnel,
audio engineers, and others involved in the preservation endeavor.
- Introduction: How We Got From ARSC/AAA to IASA TC-04.
A brief overview of the conceptual shift in preservation thinking
that began about 1990 and continues today. This presentation will
trace the history of this paradigm shift, plus outline the basic principles
that make up both ARSC/AAA and IASA TC-04, in order to set the stage
for the rest of the tutorial.
Mike Casey, Associate Director for Recordings
Services, Archives of Traditional Music, Indiana University
- Computers, Converters, Cards and Cables: Equipment Considerations
for Signal Capture in the Digital Domain.
This presentation will provide an overview of computer and digitization
equipment choices with an emphasis on accurate capture of analog source
material. Several options will be presented encompassing the wide
variety of source material, budgets, and digitization requirements
which are typically found in archives which hold audio collections.
Konrad Strauss, Director, Recording Arts Department,
Indiana University Jacobs School of Music
- Technical Metadata for Audio Preservation.
This presentation will explore the collection of technical metadata
for audio preservation and feature a demonstration of software applications
designed for documenting characteristics of both the source recording
and the digitizing process. The session will be led by David Ackerman,
chair of the Audio Engineering Society working group that has developed
two emerging standards in this area. The session will also include
reports on implementing and localizing these standards from both the
Archives of Traditional Music at Indiana University and the Rodgers
and Hammerstein Archives of Recorded Sound at the New York Public
Library.
David Ackerman, Audio Preservation Engineer,
Archive of World Music, Harvard University
Sara Velez, Assistant Chief, Rodgers and Hammerstein
Archives of Recorded Sound, New York Public Library
Mike Casey, Associate Director for Recordings Services,
Archives of Traditional Music, Indiana University
- Storage Solutions and Data Management.
This session will provide an overview of storage technology and an
exploration of storage solutions for the small archive and for larger
institutions with mass storage systems. It will also examine data
management issues for both small and larger scale storage solutions.
John Spencer, President, Bridge Media Solutions
Inc.
Jon Dunn, Associate Director for Technology, Digital
Library Program, Indiana University Libraries, Indiana University
For additional information, please contact
Nancy Seeger
nsee@loc.gov
202-707-5494
Sara Velez
svelez@nypl.org
212-870-1662
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