John,

You ask a lot--and I think the suggestion to check the archives for each
sub-topic is a good one.

Here is a high-level outline:

(1) Getting the best playback of the original as possible
(2) The analog to digital conversion
       a.  For preservation
           1. What sample rate (or DSD)
           2. What bit depth
           3. What file formats
           4. How much out-of-band info needs to be preserved
               i. Clicks/Pops
              ii. Bias
             iii. Room tone/background noise where there is no program
       b.  For access
           1. What sample rate
           2. What bit depth
           3. What file formats
           4. What compression scheme(s)
(3) The IT issues surrounding the files and their preservation
       a. How many and where are copies kept
           1. Off-site access
       b. How are copies verified over time to
           see if they are still OK
(4) Intellectual Property Rights
       a. Now
       b. When the asset becomes PD
(5) What to do with originals
       a. keep them is the correct answer for most applications
(6) Cataloging and metadata
       a. Schema
       b. Capture
            1. Include printed/hand-written original metadata i.e. album covers
                tape box notes, etc.
       c. What is made available over what paths and when (i.e. pre- or
post-PD)
(7) Presentation and indexing for general use via the WWW

Here's a start...there's probably lots more to consider. Search the Web.
Here are some good links:
http://www.clir.org/
http://www.dlib.org/
http://home.pacbell.net/hgladney/ (read his DDQ)

At 02:50 PM 2/6/2005 -0800, John Erdmann wrote:
>Hello,
>
>I am a grad student in the MLIS program at the University of
>Washington, currently taking a class on Archiving.  I am working with
>two other students on a group research paper, the topic of which is
>"Digitizing Sound Files for Preservation and Access".  We want to
>focus on the challenges of such projects, in terms of technology,
>remote access, and (possibly) the surrounding legal issues.  What are the
>challenges that Sound and Music Archivists currently face?  We would
>appreciate any ideas, comments, or direction toward good literature
>on this topic.
>
>Thanks much!
>
>John
>
>
>--
>John Erdmann
>Graduate Student
>Library & Information Science
>Email:  [log in to unmask]
>Phone:  206-685-5240
>

Richard L. Hess                           email: [log in to unmask]
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