CARLI News

Mary Burns, Northern Illinois University

While much has been written about the digital preservation of book and paper materials and more recently attention has turned to the critical need to preserve audiovisual materials of artifactual value in special collections, there is little available to inform the digitization process for access or reference copies.

This is where I work. Pretty building, isn’t it? It still looks much the same today as it did 65 years ago, at least from this angle.

As per usual, I saw exactly zero of the Best Picture nominees from last night's Academy Awards -- I plan to catch up in ten years when my kids go off to college -- but that doesn't stop me from participating in the office Oscars pool. Here at the Newberry, it's particularly high stakes, since the prize includes a day off and a photo of yourself holding Ben Hecht's Oscar.
 
 
 
 

Greg MacAyeal, Northwestern University

For those of us gifted with the ability to hear, it’s hard to imagine a world without sound. Meaning is carried in the listening of our loved ones voices, the music we consume, and in all the other sounds we are surrounded with every day.  Recorded audio is the mechanical or digital capture of meaning – the rich experience of humanity. As stated by Rob Bamberger and Sam Brylawski in the introduction to The State of Recorded Sound Preservation in the United States: A National Legacy at Risk in the Digital Age (Library of Congress, 2010): “Recorded sound is more than music and entertainment; it encompasses the sounds of the streets, of nature, and of the vanished folk heritage of indigenous and transplanted cultures, as well as of important national events and precious moments in our own personal lives.” It’s easy to understand the impact of audio. Reading Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous address on the Lincoln Memorial steps is inspiring indeed, but hearing the speech is altogether unforgettable. Everyone deserves the chance to hear “I Have a Dream”.

Library collections both large and small are likely to have some captured audio whether it’s in the form of a CD, a cassette tape or one of the many other formats. It’s not uncommon to find digital audio tape (DAT), open reel tape, LP phonodiscs, and 78 RPM phonodiscs. Special libraries and archives additionally own wire recordings, microcassettes, and Dictaphone belts and tapes. Of course, in 2016 most captured audio is in a digital format, of which there are many versions and kinds. Simply meeting the need of ensuring the longevity of audio collections is a large challenge, and one complete with a time sensitive deadline. If the format itself is not degrading, the playback equipment is hard to find and repair. For born digital collections, we have been slow to realize the need for a reformatting plan. With the estimated 46 million sound recordings at risk[1], action is needed now.