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Re: questions for a grant application



Bob,

        I recently attended a one-day A-V preservation workshop and can respond to
a couple of your questions.  Yes, there is a "one last play" equivalent for
audio materials, but I don't know what a technical term to identify it is.
What I have come to understand about analog vs digital A-V materials is that
the former is best for addressing preservation needs and the latter for
addressing access needs.  The way I understand this personally from my
non-scientific, technology-challenged background is that the "playback"
equipment for analog materials can always be recreated if needed, but that
is not true for the equivalent (i.e., the "software") of digital materials.
In other words, if you had an unidentified reel-to-reel tape and no tape
player, anyone with basic knowledge of magnetic recording could make a
machine to play the tape (even if it is a rare size or configuration).  If,
however, you have an unidentified CD, your challenge becomes finding the
right combination of hardware and software which you can't do by visual
inspection of the CD.  Furthermore, if the software is proprietary or no
longer available, even knowing what is needed doesn't allow you to recreate
it from scratch.  (I realize that doesn't address the challenge of those who
think that upgrades and migrations are the answer to digital obsolescence.)
If I were to do a proposal like yours, I would ask for both options,
reel-to-reel for preservation and digital for access.

        Here's a website that should be of help (also one for the equivalent issues
for visual materials):

        Association of Recorded Sound Collections  www.arsc-audio.org

        Association of Moving Images Archivists  www.amianet.org

Catherine Bruck
University Archivist
Illinois Institute of Technology
Paul V. Galvin Library
35 W. 33rd St.
Chicago, IL  60616
312/567-6840
312/567-5318 (FAX)
bruck@iit.edu

-----Original Message-----
From: Archives & Archivists [mailto:ARCHIVES@LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU]On
Behalf Of Madden, Robert
Sent: Friday, February 23, 2001 12:29 PM
To: ARCHIVES@LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU
Subject: questions for a grant application


Hi,
     I've been off the list for a while.  I have a few questions to help in
the process of applying for a grant.  We want to preserve recordings of
music and oral history by transferring them from cassette tape to an
archival medium, from which we will "burn" CDs for normal use.  I understand
that the only currently recognized archival medium is open-reel, half-inch,
analog tape.
     First question: Should they be taped at 15 ips, or is 7 1/2 acceptable?
     Second: What should I say to those who would prefer to transfer the
recordings directly to CDs or some other form of digitization?  (Untested
medium (how long does it take to become an accepted medium?). Analog
recording better because there is always something lost, no matter how high
the sampling rate, especially considering potentially higher future sampling
rates.  What else?)
     Third:  I know the "one last copy" theory of photocopying brittle old
books.  I assume there is a "one last play" equivalent, but is there a
better term for it?
     Thank you for any help improving the proposal.
          Bob


Robert J. Madden                                               Many a man
has dated a new are in his life
Special Collections/Reference Librarian              from the reading of a
book.
Keene State College, Keene, NH 03435-3201       - Henry David Thoreau,
Walden
rmadden@keene.edu

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Problems?  Send e-mail to Robert F Schmidt <rschmidt@lib.muohio.edu>