8 April 2011 Euston Road, London | British Library Centre for Conservation


Emerging tools and services for digital preservation are typically built around the need to preserve texts, documents, images and data sets.  Audio and video – broadly defined as time-based-media - have received less attention within the library and archive communities, partly because they have historically been seen as distinct, partly because they present new technical challenges, and partly because they have hitherto represented only a small proportion of the collections which memory institutions and research archives collect.  However, the simplicity with which digital video and audio can be captured and the ease and popularity of online distribution means that they are now ubiquitous, creating new concern for long term access.  As more and more of our cultural and scientific legacy is being created in digital audio-visual formats, so those managing long term access to data need to understand the challenges and opportunities which these formats bring.  New skills and new techniques will be required to ensure our digital audio and video memory is accessible tomorrow.

This DPC briefing day will provide a forum for members to review and debate the latest development in the preservation of digital sound and vision. Based on commentary and case studies from leaders in the field, participants will be presented with emerging tools and technologies and will be encouraged to propose and debate new directions for research.  The day will include a discussion of key

  • Preservation of digital audio formats and collections
  • Preservation of digital video formats and collections
  • Creation, documentation and retrieval of digital sound and video
  • Emerging tools and policies for preservation

Who should come?

This day will be of interest to:

    • Collections manager, librarians, archivists and conservators with responsibility for audio and video collections
    • Managers and funders of digitization projects
    • Repository managers providing access to data linked to publications
    • Tools developers and policy makers in digital preservation
    • Innovators and researchers in digital sound and video
    • Innovators and researchers in computing science
    • Vendors and providers of collections management services

Draft Programme Outline

1030       Registration and Coffee

1100       Welcome and introductions (William Kilbride, DPC)

1110       Defining the 'Value Proposition' for Audio-Visual Preservation: The Nature of the Problem, Nicky Whitsed, Open University

1130       Collecting, conserving and managing sound archives Richard Ranft, British Library Sound Archive

1150       Creators and consumers: digital sound and vision as research outputs, Stephen Gray, JISC Digital Media

1210       Challenges and solutions in broadcast archives, John Zubrycki, BBC

1230       Discussion and questions

1300       Lunch

1340       Presto Centre and emerging tools in preservation of audio-visual collections, Richard Wright, BBC

1400       Access to Video Assets Project, The Open University: Outcomes and Lessons Learnt, Sue Allcock, James Alexander, Open University

1420       Emerging tools for digital sound, Mark Plumbley and Simon Dixon, Queen Mary University of London.

1440       Coffee

1500       Discussion: what is to be done, why and by whom?

By 1600 Close

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