Library Organizations
The American Library Association
ALA is the national organization of librarians. The Video Roundtable of the ALA is broad-based group bringing together ALA members who have an interest in and/or responsibility for video collections. The Roundtable provides a unified voice for video advocacy in the areas of legislation, professional guidelines for collections, and other issues specifically related to video and libraries. They also educate library professionals about the use of video, and provide a liaison between video vendors and the library sector. The Video Roundtable publishes Video Round Table News on a quarterly basis.
The ALCTS/PARS Photographic and Recording Media: Methods, Materials, and Standards Committee is charged with coordinating section activities related to the methods, materials, and standards employed in the preservation of photographic and recording media.
Council on Library and Information Services
CLIR is the result of the 1997 merger of the Commission on Preservation and Access and the Council on Library Resources. CLIR is a non-profit organization governed by an independent board, and its primary activities include identifying critical issues facing libraries and archives, convening individuals and organizations to engage and respond to these issues, and coordinating national and international programs in preservation and access, digital libraries, economics of information, and leadership development. CLIR maintains four current programs: the Commission on Preservation and Access, Digital Libraries, the Economics of Information, and Leadership. CLIR's Commission on Preservation and Access (CPA) is sponsored in part by libraries, archives, colleges, universities, publishers, and other allies concerned with preservation and access issues. One project of the Preservation Science Research Initiative, a program of CLIR, was the development of a joint report from the Commission and the National Media Laboratory on the long-term storage requirements for magnetic media. Magnetic Tape Storage and Handling: A Guide for Libraries and Archives, by John Van Bogart, also provides guidance on how to care for these media to maximize their life expectancies. The CLIR web site also includes abstracts and ordering information on an extensive list of publications, including the report above and the Image Permanence Institute report New Tools for Preservation: Assessing Long-Term Environmental Effects on Library and Archives Collections, by James M. Reilly, Douglas W. Nishimura and Edward Zinn.
Library of Congress
In 1997, the LOC published Television and Video Preservation 1997: A Study of the Current State of American Television and Video Preservation. The report has two key objectives: to provide a factual foundation for the understanding of issues confronting the preservation of American television and video, and to recommend a national plan of action based upon a broad consensus of the archival community. Order information at the Library of Congress site. Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division (M/B/RS) has responsibility for the acquisition, cataloging and preservation of the motion picture and television collections. The Division operates the Motion Picture and Television Reading Room to provide access and information services to an international community of film and television professionals, archivists, scholars and researchers. The LOC web site is organized into sections representing the research and reference services for Motion Picture and for Recorded Sound. In the "Collections Care and Conservation" section of the Motion Picture Reading Room there is a link to a bibliography by Mark Roosa covering magnetic media preservation. A bibliography on audio preservation, and the article "Record and Tape Care in a Nutshell" are part of the Recorded Sound Reading Room section, along with information resources on cylinder recordings.
Research Library Group
RLG is devoted to improving access to information which supports research and learning. It is an alliance of universities, colleges, national libraries, archives and independent research collections.
The goal of RLG Working Group on Preserving Magnetic Media is to compile and present a set of practical guidelines to assist libraries and archives in preserving these collections. Objectives of the working group include:
- organizing and analyzing the available research and knowledge on preservation and reformatting requirements of magnetic media;
- developing documentation of relevant standards and best practices, including guidelines for storage, care and handling, reformatting, and transfer re-recording;
- recommending steps RLG and its members can take to disseminate information that will result in the most effective and timely distribution of information;
- developing model RFPs, including technical specifications, for reformatting or transfer re-recording of magnetic media formats;
- investigating cost and quality (better environmental monitoring, etc.) benefits associated with establishing a shared storage facility for magnetic media.
In the 1997-98 grant cycle, the Research Libraries Group was funded by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences to create and make available a single, comprehensive information source that includes the best practices and relevant technical standards for the preservation of magnetic media. The resulting manual will be available via the Internet on the RLG PRESERV web site. For information on working group membership, consult RGL PRESERV .