Audio Preservation: Principles and Practices

The objectives of this course are to introduce the principles, standards, and best practices currently used to preserve audio recordings; provide beginning knowledge necessary to successfully manage audio preservation transfer work conducted either in-house or using an outside vendor; provide hands-on experience using various software tools for audio preservation, including metadata collection, selection, and audio recording/editing software; present an overview of auxiliary topics such as audio fundamentals, physical storage and handling of recordings, early field recording technologies, and digital repositories; present in-depth information on key topics such as audio preservation systems, selection for preservation, technical and digital provenance metadata, defining and working with preservation files, existing standards and best practices, and quality control; and provide training in the identification and evaluation of various audio formats including preservation problems and characteristics that impact stability.