Sound Foundations: ARSC's Preservation Residency Program

Background

Many students are not able to undertake internships or apprenticeships while completing their degree programs, yet most employers require two-plus years of experience.

Others looking to pivot from managing private collections or from touring/studio engineering work also need a way to expand their skills and knowledge.

A pipeline is needed to connect those who possess format and equipment knowledge with those who desire transfer and maintenance knowledge.

Objectives

1) Enable those who are newer to the field of audio archiving and preservation (recent graduates or those from “nontraditional” career positions, especially individuals from traditionally marginalized backgrounds, or who are neurodiverse) to obtain hands-on, practical experience in established archives and preservation sites with compensation for a two-year period.

2) Ensure that valuable technical knowledge and expertise continues to be passed on to the next generation. The program will cover two years of ARSC membership dues and offer workshops on resume/CV building, mock interviews, and other career coaching for the resident.

3) It will not only provide education and training for the fellow, but support the host site by providing a large percentage of the fellow's salary.

Why ARSC?

“Recommendation 1.5: Continuing Education in Audio Preservation” from the National Recording Preservation Plan (2012) advocated for the establishment of programs “to ensure that practicing audio engineers, archivists, curators, and librarians acquire new knowledge and skills in audio management, archiving, and preservation,” and called on organizations like ARSC, the Audio Engineering Society, and Music Library Association to create special programming to further enhance existing curricula. In 2020, ARSC directly addressed this recommendation with the establishment of a Continuing Education Webinar Series, helmed by the Education & Training (E&T) Committee. ARSC applied for and was awarded grant funding to produce 13 successful webinars over the past 3 years. ARSC would like to capitalize on the momentum created by the series to establish Sound Foundations since the NRPP also encouraged the creation of internships and fellowships in audio archiving and preservation. “It is critical that students undertake medium- to long-term institutional internships either as part of their graduate education or as post-graduate experience” (pages 12 and 13).

How

A sub-committee of ARSC’s E&T Committee has been formed to create a formal plan for the program:

• Draw up a budget
• Criteria for host sites and residents (see below)
• Outline possible training curriculum - technical, description, access, outreach
• Determine deliverables with host sites
• Nominate a review committee to select residents
• Advocate for support for this program from foundations, endowments, and other associations
• Write grant applications and oversee any awards

Partnership with the with the NRPF

Federally chartered under the National Recording Preservation Act of 2000, the National Recording Preservation Foundation (NRPF) is an independent, charitable, and nonprofit corporation. Since the foundation’s mission of promoting and ensuring the preservation and public accessibility of the nation’s sound recording heritage aligns with the goals of Sound Foundations, ARSC has forged a partnership with the NRPF to pursue grants and other funding opportunities.

For more information, email arscCEseries@gmail.com.