Spring 2012 Accidental Audio Archival Education Robin C. Pike

Colleagues in libraries neering Society, the Price cassette player field. I also networked and archives frequently Technical Committee of (without breaking any with audio engineers and ask how I was trained to the Association of Re- parts) because I wanted other specialists who cre- do what I do. While a set corded Sound Collec- to see how the insides ated the set-ups and stan- of requirements exists for tions, and the Technical worked. My first formal dards. With this experi- archival education, and Committee of the Interna- training occurred when I ence, I created policies numerous institutions tional Association of was in college, as a music and procedures for audio offer masters’ and certifi- Sound and Audiovisual education major—I was archiving and created an cation pro- Archives). required to take a course audio digitization station. grams, no one After learning on commercial music Like everyone else I’ve what is technology that could be known in the field, by set of require- “Most of the audio ments or one needed from a helpful in the classroom. picking up information training that does training pro- digital preser- While attaining my MLIS, from a variety of sources, gram has been exist is highly vation and I took a course titled I was able to gain enough designed for technical and archival per- “Sound and Moving Im- knowledge to succeed. spective, age Archives,” though it people inter- frequently geared to ested in audio- these indi- was limited in scope and (Continued on page 2) serve audio visual archives. viduals fre- did not cover practical Most of the au- engineers.” quently have aspects of digitization and dio training an easier time digital audiovisual collec- that does exist in the field tions. is highly technical and because they frequently geared to are more familiar with the For four years, I worked serve audio engineers. technical side of equip- as the Audiovisual Archi- Inside this issue: This is unfortunate, be- ment and materials. Being vist at The Catholic Uni- cause few institutions a musician and former versity of America—a have audio engineers on music educator, I fell into small university in Wash- More Than Meets the Ear 2 staff in their archives. the category of subject ington, DC—and was re- Many audio archivists specialist. However, be- sponsible for photo- start out either as audio cause of my love of me- graphic, audio, and mov- Descriptive Challenges ... 4 engineers or subject spe- dia, I decided to pursue ing-image media in the cialists who have learned this track, unlike many manuscript collections to work with the formats archivists who find audio- and university records. Columbia Records ... 6 presented to them. Audio visual problems in their During that time, I en- engineers are adept at collections and have no hanced my experience creating production sys- prior training. by taking workshops on What is the Secret in that 7 tems and predicting the audiovisual analog pres- Ketchup Sauce? technology needed for I was exposed to legacy ervation and audiovisual projects, and they often media and equipment at digitization specifications, set professional standards an early age. When I was reading numerous papers (such as standards cre- two, I somehow managed and other resources pub- ated by the Audio Engi- to take apart my Fisher- lished by leaders in the

Continued from page 1 I recently started work- reformatting done across  Conservation Center ing as the Digital Collec- numerous library units for Art and Historic tions Librarian and head (and I look forward to the Artifacts, “A Race of the new Digital Con- challenge!); my addi- Against Time: Pre- version and Media Re- tional responsibility is to serving our Audio- formatting unit at the educate my new col- visual Media” University of Maryland, leagues on these stan-  Lyrasis, College Park. I was dards and processes, “Preservation and brought to the university explaining why they are Salvage of Audiovis- namely for my skill with necessary for the lon- ual Materials” audio digitization but gevity of audiovisual ma- also for my experience terials and content. The Less technically-worded with archives and spe- accidental audio-archival resources are currently cial collections materials education cycle begins being developed at: as well as digital collec- again … http:// tions. Already I have had www.digitizationguidelin numerous conversations For archivists wishing to es.gov/audio-visual/ . with curators and collec- further their own audio- Another helpful resource tion managers concern- archival education, two that will lead to many ing their collections’ helpful workshops are other resources is Con- needs. My job is to es- offered semi-regularly servation OnLine: http:// tablish uniform stan- (check the organizations’ cool.conservation- dards and workflows for websites for more de- us.org/bytopic/audio/ . all the conversion and tails):

More Than Meets the Ear Arjun Sabharwal

Recorded sound repre- ment is created by our media formats that are or sents different things to diminished capabilities are not digital? What different specializations in “If something is to play recordings on about prevailing attitudes the archival profession not accessible diverse historical-media towards pre-digital for- and, in fact, to others in formats and to reformat through a mobile mats? Popular attitudes the information profes- recordings for digital reduce the value of sion. In an environment device, it does not access. Shrinking budg- knowledge on the basis of dominated by new media, exist. “ ets and shrinking archi- its format: If something is file-sharing networks, mo- val staffs further prevent not accessible through a bile devices, and other researchers from proc- mobile device, it does not digital technologies, essing the knowledge exist. Copyright law as sound recordings repre- places, events, people, contained on rare media. well as legal and ethical sent more than just con- and organizations that no What then is the mean- obligations stated in tent; they are cultural arti- longer are around. In ing of recorded sound in deeds of gift may, after facts and primary-source most cases, this knowl- a “digitally” saturated all, hinder or prevent the documents containing re- edge is not accessible in society with an accessi- full-scale digitization of corded knowledge of print form. A predica- bility divide between such recordings. (Continued on next page 3)

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Repositories holding re- the industrial, political, trast to the various vinyl on weekends in the shop- corded sound in diverse intellectual, cultural, and formats (33, 45, 78 rpm)— ping malls. media formats must con- economic contexts of presented a significant Recorded sounds repre- sider two fundamental those recordings. Copy- advantage in portability, sent culture, industry, aspects of such collec- right law protects such akin to cassettes being commerce, and knowl- tions: (1) research, and (2) content, so even if refor- more portable than reel- edge—all of which will be intrinsic value, where the matting is necessitated by to-reel tapes. With these extremely valuable to re- former refers to providing the deteriorating condi- formats came walkman- searchers, regardless of access to knowledge and tion of the media itself, type players, gradually format, if sound is dili- the latter aims at preserv- public access to the con- replaced by MP3, mini- gently identified, col- ing the media format tent may not be as auto- disc, and other digital lected, and preserved. (preserving both content matic as technophiles ex- players that testify to peo- Individuals, corporations, and media) for its own pect. ple’s desire to carry less civic organizations, and sake. We undoubtedly around. Today, however, academic institutions may have much to learn from they are testaments to never overestimate the recording technologies consumers’ attachments to value of their collections, that produced mono, ste- “Recorded sounds (if not altogether depend- as there always will be reo, and quadraphonic represent culture, ence on) the cloud, the more than meets the ear. sound, and from the me- Web, and other shared Recorded sound therefore industry, dia types and the equip- platforms. remains a deep subject. ment compatible with commerce, and them. Recordings docu- Such developments also ment not only the informa- knowledge…” speak to an evident de- tion shared but also the gree of social disengage- industries that produced ment in the public space, and marketed the formats. THANKS TO where headphones and A record jacket contain- NANCY MAYSMITH As cultural artifacts, sound ear buds hinder and even ing the vinyl, liner notes, recordings are salient prevent social engage- FOR PROVIDING and poster presents infor- members of special and ment. Communication mation about the large OUR ROUNDTABLE archival collections. They devices combined with networks of industries in- speak volumes to attitudes media players furthers WITH A BEAUTIFUL volved in the produc- shared about media— social isolation in the pub- tion—an element that is LOGO. values associated with lic space as users often missing entirely from ease of use, portability, speak on the phone be- WWW.MAYSMITH downloadable media to- economic status, and tween listing to music, day. DESIGN.COM other intangible charac- radio, or other programs.

teristics of society. Eight- Perhaps one consolation Explicit and tacit aspects tracks, for instance, repre- for pre-digital media en- to knowledge merit a sent Americans’ attach- thusiasts is that re- thorough and holistic ment to the automobile— formatting the old re- strategy in developing a the media was designed cordings for digital play- metadata record. Explicit to suit the lifestyles of ers may help in the pres- knowledge, in this con- people who spent an in- ervation efforts; but we text, would include the creasing amount of time in still may be far from see- information obtained from commuting to work, ing youngsters listening to the recorded speeches, school, entertainment oral histories, presidential interviews, and other venues, and shopping. speeches, and interviews orally transmitted content; Likewise, the CD—in con- on their portable devices tacit aspects speak about

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Descriptive Challenges of Audio Archiving Ronda L. Sewald

In December 2011, the SAA Recorded Sound Roundtable Discussion List considered expanding the Roundtable to include all audiovisual materials. Arguments in favor included shared preservation con- cerns and the desire to pool energy and resources. However, audio materials pose unique challenges for their custodians.

One area where sound recordings currently lag behind print materials—and even, arguably, moving- image materials—is that of “bibliographic” access and control. Commercially published recordings of Western art music have received the most attention in this regard, although extant descriptive records still present obstacles to discovering and retrieving these materials. The results of a 2010 survey admin- istered by the DACS for Archival Sound Recordings Subcommittee of the Association for Recorded Sound Collections (ARSC) reveal that a large number of catalogers must describe non-music recordings (see survey graph). With the exception of oral history, catalogers tackling these audio materials must rely upon a mix of standards: standards such as DACS and AACR2, designed primarily for print and manuscript materials; standards created by ARSC ad the International Association of Sound and Audio-

Response by 158 participants to the survey question “What type of content do [the recordings you catalog] contain (check all that apply; some of these categories may overlap)?” – Researcher survey administered by the DACS for Archival Sound Recordings Sub

Mus ical performance and rehearsals 133

Spoken word performances 141

Radio broadcasts 96

Sound effects 35

Sounds of animal speech/communication 14

Soundscape studies 23

Events or rituals 94

Other 23

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160

Number of Respondents

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visual Archives (IASA); and in-house guidelines. One challenge of describing archival sound recordings is determining what constitutes the item, or the unified entity forming the basis for a single descriptive record. This is problematic with commercial publications, “...how do we supply since sound recordings often function more like anthologies. The problem titles for recordings can be exacerbated by a mismatch between physical container and intel- when a label is lectual content. A tape may contain several interviews; or a recorded event may span multiple carriers. Larger events may also contain nested series of indecipherable or smaller events, which in turn may contain multiple works (e.g., several misidentifies the songs composing a concert, which composes a musical set during one day content?” of a festival). In such cases, determining what constitutes an item, subser- ies, and series proves difficult.

Sound recordings seldom exist as independent entities. Transcripts, field notes, release forms, video recordings, photographs, track lists, and tape logs may be relegated to sepa- rate series in finding aids or lumped into the category of “accompanying documentation.” At the same time, unifying principles, such as the event underlying a field recording, suggest that all pieces comprise one intellectual entity. Furthermore, how do we supply titles for recordings when a label is indecipher- able or misidentifies the content? How do we identify the content of a poorly documented recording in an important collection when the cataloger is unable to play back a damaged, fragile, or obsolescent carrier? Based on the afore- mentioned survey, AACR2 and DACS do not adequately address conundrums “Targeted such as these, and already there is a clamor of dissatisfaction over the unified professional cataloging standard, Resource Description and Access (RDA). training would be We must establish best practices that address data of importance to end users: highly take numbers; performance dates; the names of performers, producers, and engineers; and writers of accompanying documentation. This mandates the re- desirable…” view and compilation of reference guides for identifying numbers, dates, and contributor names; and the related authority work must also be supported. We must pressure the creators of national standards and guidelines to take these issues seriously. Competition between secondary standards (those created by ARSC and IASA) has his- torically bred confusion, resulting in the abandonment of quickly-outdated publications in favor of DACS, AACR2, or in-house standards.

Targeted professional training would be highly desirable—a program that offers courses in the descrip- tion and preservation of commercial, archival, and rare-sound recordings. Coursework might include “discographic” instruction as well as the history of recorded sound and courses oriented toward creating specialists in various formats, eras, subjects, and genres. In addition to preservation and access, sound archivists face challenges in rights management, understanding user needs, creating search and delivery tools, and outreach. In short, our roundtable has plenty to keep us busy for decades. A next step for our group may be to expand our focus beyond audio carriers and toward challenges posed by their intellec- tual content.

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Columbia Records Manufacturing Process: 1946 John Coakley

records we see being with the public in part surface is easily marred This past fall I interned made, inspected, and because the Depression by scratches or even at the Rodgers & Ham- shipped are 10-inch had inhibited consumer direct sunlight; records merstein Archives of discs that would have interest in new tech- made from shellac are Recorded Sound at New been played at a speed nologies. That early less prone to scratches York Public Library's of 78 RPM (revolutions version of the LP was but are comparatively Library for the Perform- per minute). Today, col- still commonly used for heavy and brittle. ing Arts. The experi- lectors refer to them by commercial purposes, ence was excellent, so I their speed—78s—but especially as a means Technology in the re- continue to volunteer back then they were of recording radio pro- cording studio was on while looking for work simply called records. grams for later broad- the cusp of changing as (having recently gradu- cast. well. Magnetic tape had ated from Long Island 1946 marked the ap- yet to become the re- University’s Palmer proaching end of one cording norm; instead, School). My most in- era of record produc- music was directly volved project was re- tion and the beginning translated to the searching 12 photo- of another. In two grooves of a lacquer or graphs that were taken years—and in this very acetate record by a inside a Columbia Re- plant—Columbia would special needle that ac- cords manufacturing begin producing the tually cut the grooves plant. I eventually was first commercially vi- as the performance able to understand— able long-playing, 331/ happened, hence the and thus describe—the 3 RPM, 12-inch records musical slang for re- process shown in the (LPs). Unlike the typical cording, “cutting images. Then I created one-song-per-side limi- sides.” The lacquer or a detailed display that tation of 78s, a number acetate disc was then is still encased on the of popular songs or a placed in the aptly third floor of the li- full movement of a clas- Photo courtesy of the Rodgers named “gold sputtering brary. and Hammerstein Archives of sical piece could now machine,” an electro- Recorded Sound be heard in one sitting, plating apparatus that Photographs were without interruption. In would coat the lacquer taken during a 1946 1949, RCA Victor intro- Both the LP and the 45 with a very fine layer of tour of the Bridgeport, duced the 7-inch, 45- were made of vinyl, gold, creating a nega- CT, Columbia Records RPM single, and the for- unlike the 78s that we tive, convex impression factory. The photos pro- mat war was on. Curi- see here, which were of the record’s grooves. vide a fascinating look ously, RCA Victor had made from shellac. Both Thicker layers of nickel at how music was re- already created a dif- materials have pros and and copper were then produced in those days. ferent version of the cons: vinyl records are added to the disc in In the picture accompa- 331/ RPM LP, but in flexible and capable of electroplating baths, nying this article, the 3 1930 it failed to catch on higher fidelity, but the (Continued on page 7)

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THE ROUNDTABLE Continued from previous page SERVES AS A FORUM FOR and when the desired molds for a large num- ing process, visit http:// DISCUSSING strength was achieved, ber of “stampers” that www.nypl.org/ ARCHIVAL ISSUES the lacquer disc was would be used to actu- blog/2011/11/18/ RELATED TO THE carefully stripped away ally press the grooves columbia-records- CREATION, from the metal, and the into blank, pre-cut manufacturing-process- gold surface would be rounds of shellac. But 1946. MANAGEMENT, plated with nickel. That even at that stage, the PRESERVATION, would become the mas- manufacturing process [This article is adapted AND USE OF AUDIO ter disc, also known as was far from complete. from John’s original AND AUDIOVISUAL the matrix. From that blog post, November RESOURCES IN disc a few so-called To see all 12 photo- 18, 2011.] ARCHIVES AND mother discs would be graphs and other as- OTHER CULTURAL created, providing the pects of the manufactur- HERITAGE

What is the Secret in That Ketchup Sauce? Editor’s Preface: This wise access. If this is the are at the mercy of the audio-recording file is an message was part of a dis- case—and it almost cer- market and fashion. As exceedingly poor repre- cussion thread from the tainly is for a multifunction soon as the company goes sentation of the original Oral History Association’s device of this size—the out of business or market interview event. All of email list (H-OralHist) and Smart Pen is completely tastes dictate a change of is printed with the author’s inappropriate for oral- product, access to the this, and the fact that the permission. Elinor re- history interview re- original recording is lost. microphone in the Smart sponds to another writer’s cording. Oral-history in- This happens about every Pen is certainly not up to query about the Livescribe terview recordings are hour-and-a-half in this era high fidelity, make this Smart Pen as an oral- created for the long run. of dizzying technological gizmo an unlikely candi- history recording device. They must be suitable for change. date for oral-history re- Perhaps our roundtable the archives, which means Some proprietary record- cording. Adorable—all members aren’t interested that they must be created ers and software provide but irresistible for many in the Smart Pen, but Eli- in an audio format that has conversion functions, with nor’s comment on proprie- a good chance of being purposes, perhaps—but which the original, secret- tary software is pertinent to accessible in the future, not a good choice for oral sauce recording can be any discussion of “distant- even the very distant fu- history. converted to ordinary future” accessibility. ture. At present, suitable, ketchup (i.e., file in #@$ (almost) universally ac- Elinor Mazé A quick look at the cessible, and (more or format can be converted Baylor University Institute Livescribe Smart Pen less) open formats are to WAV). But the massive for Oral History website suggests that the WAV, or AIFF, or BWF. compression and other recording format for au- Proprietary recordings— secret abstractions that dio (and hand-written text audio or video recorded and images) is proprie- with devices that use a created the original pro- tary and requires use of manufacturer's own, prietary recording are not the bundled software to closely guarded recipe to undone by this conver- play back, edit, or other- create recording files— sion, and the resulting

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