Re: [ARSCLIST] Sound Directions publication

[Tom Fine <tflists@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hello Mike:

This will take a while to digest. The first course was most appealing. Great work.

-- Tom Fine

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Casey, Michael T" <micasey@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <ARSCLIST@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Wednesday, December 05, 2007 9:16 AM
Subject: [ARSCLIST] Sound Directions publication


Dear ARSCLIST members,

The Sound Directions project team is pleased to announce that the publication of our findings is now 
available on the web. Below you will find the official "press release" with details on access to the 
document. It is our sincerest hope that you find the document useful and well worth the wait.

Mike Casey

----------
Mike Casey
Associate Director for Recording Services
Archives of Traditional Music
Indiana University

(812)855-8090

Co-Chair, ARSC Technical Committee


The Sound Directions project at Harvard University and Indiana University announces the publication 
of Sound Directions: Best Practices for Audio Preservation, which is available as a PDF from the 
Sound Directions website at www.dlib.indiana.edu/projects/sounddirections/. This 168-page 
publication presents the results of two years of research and development funded by the National 
Endowment for the Humanities in the United States. This work was carried out by project and 
permanent staff at both institutions in consultation with an advisory board of experts in audio 
engineering, audio preservation, and digital libraries.

Sound Directions: Best Practices for Audio Preservation establishes best practices in many areas 
where they did not previously exist. This work also explores the testing and use of existing and 
emerging standards. It includes chapters on personnel and equipment for preservation transfer, 
digital files, metadata, storage, preservation packages and interchange, and audio preservation 
systems and workflows. Each chapter is divided into two major parts: a preservation overview that 
summarizes key concepts for collection managers and curators, followed by a section that presents 
recommended technical practices for audio engineers, digital librarians, and other technical staff. 
This latter section includes a detailed look at the inner workings of the audio preservation systems 
at both Harvard and Indiana.

This first phase of the Sound Directions project produced four key results: the publication of our 
findings and best practices, the development of much needed software tools for audio preservation, 
the creation or further development of audio preservation systems at each institution, and the 
preservation of a large number of critically endangered and highly valuable recordings. All of these 
are detailed in this publication, which provides solid grounding for institutions pursuing audio 
preservation either in-house or in collaboration with an outside vendor.

For further information on the Sound Directions project: soundir@xxxxxxxxxxx