media preservation

Two of my favorite moments at work are when I confirm that the regular UPS visit just picked up a shipment of tapes going to the vendor and when I receive a package from the vendor—the hard drive with files from tapes sent previously. Yes, I send tapes, and in a couple of weeks I … Continue reading »

This continues our series of guest posts from universities actively addressing media preservation issues.  The format distribution among Berea College’s 18,000 plus non-commercial audio and video holdings is about a third each, 1960s-1970s era open reel tapes and audio cassettes, and a final third divided about evenly between VHS and half-inch open reel video tapes … Continue reading »

[Author’s note: At last December’s Association of Moving Image Archivists conference in Seattle, Rachael Stoeltje graciously asked me to write a guest blog for IU’s Media Preservation Initiative about the Video At Risk project currently underway at NYU. Feeling a little overly-jingoistic, I did so on Inauguration Day 2013. In lieu of focusing on reformatting … Continue reading »

The Library of Congress today unveiled “The Library of Congress National Recording Preservation Plan,” a blueprint for saving America’s recorded sound heritage for future generations. The congressionally mandated plan spells out 32 short- and long-term recommendations involving both the public and private sectors and covers infrastructure, preservation, access, education and policy strategies. The plan derived … Continue reading »

Since taking over management of the Digital Media Group at Cornell University Library in 2005, a/v has felt like my own personal white elephant in the room. I knew that at some point (always “very soon”) I was going to have to deal with it, but didn’t have the staffing, resources, or know-how to really … Continue reading »