I take my hat off to you Tom! It's about time someone put out a post such as
yours. I think Richard Hess has done a fine (no pun intended!) job of keeping
everyone on this list, and other lists, informed about the collective knowledge
of the group. Well done Richard! Without people like you, the dots would be
far apart, but you have made them closer. The picture is coming together.
So thank you Tom for pointing this out, and I sincerely hope the LOC make their
findings on this issue - findable, and not kept secret like some other places
we are aware of.
Knowledge is power, and with knowledge you can make informed choices. To me, it
is also about sharing that knowledge, so others can learn.
There we go, that is my speech for today!
Cheers
Marie
Quoting Marlan Green <margre@xxxxxxx>:
Tom et al,
I haven't contributed much to this list. I like to "listen" rather than talk
since I'm not an Audio Engineer. In response to your message below I couldn't
agree more. I want to point out to the list that the Library of Congress
Preservation Directorate is making the research of this very topic and other
audiovisual materials a high priority and eagerly looks forward to working
with members of this list, members of ARSC, audiovisual archives, and other
institutions. Recently a new Chief of Research and Testing was hired. His
press release is attached or can be found at
http://www.loc.gov/today/pr/2006/06-079.html. Part of the press release
emphasizes the plan to research sticky shed syndrome. LOC is just now ramping
up its research facility to address audiovisual materials (previously
attention was placed on paper and leather). I expect there will be more
information made available in the coming months and I will forward that
information to the list.
Marlan Green
Tom Fine <tflists@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
You know, there should be a special ARSC meeting on this, maybe in
conjunction with the AES. Let's
get the authors of these papers and books if they can be persuaded. Let's get
some good Chem 101
professor to explain all this in layman's terms and let's see if some of the
big holders of tapes
with a lot on the line (ie the record companies and such large institutions
as the LOC) can put up
some $$$ to fund some tape-specific research. I also think if one asked in
the context of getting to
the bottom of this, the folks that Quantegy might share the recipes for the
sticky tapes (I
understand they bought all of 3M's recipes so they must have documentation on
hand). I can't
understand why, all these years after this problem has been discovered, that
there are all these
questions. It seems like the answers are known but the dots aren't connected.
Richard Hess has done
the most dot connecting of anyone who I know of who seems willing to share
the information. He's got
a studio to run and he doesn't own a chemistry lab. So it seems like there
would be vested interest
of the owners of all these valuable sticky tapes to step up and make the
answers clearer. Maybe
there's a political issue I'm not seeing?
Marlan Green Audiovisual Preservation Specialist Conservation Division Preservation Directorate Library of Congress
202-707-1541
Marie O'Connell Sound Archivist/Sound Engineer/Sound Consultant Center for Oral History & Cultural Heritage University of Southern Mississippi Phone: 601-266-6514 Mobile: 601-329-6911
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