Re: [ARSCLIST] National Recording Preservation Board (NRPB) Study

[steven c <stevenc@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

see end...
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Rob Bamberger" <rbamberger@xxxxxxxxxxx>
> The National Recording Preservation Act, among many other provisions,
> calls for preparation of a study on the "state of sound recording
> archiving, preservation and restoration activities." That study is to
> be followed up by a national plan to address issues and needs raised in
> the study. 
> 
> I've been detailed from the Congressional Research Service here at
> the Library of Congress to prepare the study and subsequent plan. (A
> number of supporting reports have been completed and available on the
> Council on Library and Information Resources website:
> http://www.clir.org/pubs/reports/reports.html.  Other reports are
> in-progress.)  
> 
> Some of the issues to be addressed in the study include: 
> 
> I. Archives: [1] the size and nature of their holdings, with
> respect to both published and unpublished recordings; [2] the nature and
> extent of preservation capacities and activities, any criteria by which
> priorities are set for preservation, and financial support for
> preservation activity; [3] the format and specifications that have been
> adopted for preservation activities; [4] reader/researcher access to
> preserved material; and [5] copyright/intellectual property issues that
> may limit or interfere with access.
> 
> II. Sound engineers and technicians: [1] perceived needs for
> standards or "best practices" to facilitate sharing of preserved
> material, how such standards/practices should be determined, and how
> often they should be subject to review and by whom; and [2] the
> challenges and practicality, in the face of limited resources, of
> automating preservation activity. 
>  
>  The study will be one of the items on the agenda at the Friday evening
> Archives Update Session (8:00-9:30 P.M.) at the ARSC conference.
> However, I'd welcome your thoughts at anytime (well, almost anytime)
> over the course of the conference.  There have been a number of relevant
> and useful threads on the list, and there are certain to be more. It's
> all grist for the mill.
> 
> Additionally, the Library plans to create a formal opportunity or two
> for specialists and members of the general public to weigh in on matters
> included in the study. 
> 
> Looking forward to seeing some of you again when in Seattle, and
> meeting others!
> 
Keep in mind that this is the same government who placed sound
recordings under a blanket copyright that extends (at this point...
it could be changed!) to 2067! Should someone discover Edison's
original "tinfoil" recording of "Mary Had a Little Lamb," it would
be another 61 years before it could be made available to the
public...130 years after the recording was made! One thinks that
RIAA may be getting a bit carried away...?! I suspect that this
interest in the preservation of original recordings may be based
on the possibilty that money could be made from their reissue...

Steven C. Barr