Audio Preservation: Home

This site suggests resources for research and practice in audio preservation and restoration.

Top Resources

ARSC Guide to Audio Preservation (2015)
Audio preservation guide (PDF download) created by the Association for Recorded Sound Collections (ARSC), the Council on Library & Information Resources (CLIR), and the National Recording Preservation Board of the Library of Congress. Topics include: audio conservation and preservation, recorded sound formats and their associated risks, appraisal, copyright issues and fair use, digitization and digital content management, and disaster preparedness.

IASA Guidelines on the Production and Preservation of Digital Audio Objects (2009)
Web edition of IASA-TC 04 (Second Edition, 2009), an accepted authority on digital audio preservation in the sound archiving field from the International Association of Sound and Audiovisual Archives (IASA). Topics include: preservation formats and systems, metadata and data management, storage and access, and project planning.
IASA Safeguarding the Audio Heritage: Ethics, Principles and Preservation Strategy (2005)
Web edition of IASA-TC 03 (Version 3, 2005), a set of standards, recommended practices, and strategies from the International Association of Sound and Audiovisual Archives (IASA). Also available as a downloadable PDF. Topics include: ethical issues in sound archiving, stability of formats, audio transfer and restoration, and principles of digital archiving.
MLA Copyright for Music Librarians
A website maintained by the Legislation Committee of the Music Library Association (MLA) addressing issues of copyright as they apply to the fields of music and music librarianship. Content covered includes: summaries of laws and legal decisions, reports and studies, published statements, online resources and bibliography, FAQ and glossary pertaining to music copyright issues.

A Race Against Time: Audio Preservation

George Blood, President of Safe Sound Archive, discusses the basics of audio preservation in this segment from the series "A Race Against Time" by the Conservation Center for Art & Historic Artifacts (CCAHA).

Complete series information and additional video links can be found on the CCAHA website.

National Jukebox

The Library of Congress presents the National Jukebox, which makes historical sound recordings available to the public free of charge. The Jukebox includes recordings from the extraordinary collections of the Library of Congress Packard Campus for Audio Visual Conservation and other contributing libraries and archives.