Preserving Audio Files
Remembering the Voices: Preserving Audio Files
Annotations by Chelsea Pridmore
Definition of Project
This project examines publications concerning the preservation of digital audio files in archival collections. Some sub-topics covered in this project are digital audiovisual files and ethnic music audio archives. The subject headings that were predominant in this search were audio archives, digital sound preservation, and digital archives among others. This suggests that while digital audio files can appear to have longevity, that they in fact need preservation methods and strategies themselves. In addition, there is a need to transfer non-digital audio files to digital audio files. This project will also examine publications on the methods and tools for preserving the digital audio files. Resources that focused on digital audio files in archives were chosen over those that were focused in a library setting.
Annotations
- Assmann, I. (2009). Digital audiovisual archives: Unlocking our audio and audiovisual heritage potential. ESARBICA Journal: Journal of the Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Branch of the International Council on Archives, 28(1), 230-237. doi:10.4314/esarjo.v28i1.44406
This article will be helpful for a better understanding of why there is a critical need to digitize analog files to preserve the past for access in the future. The article addresses the concerns over the longevity of analog audio files and notes that due to their importance these audio files should be made available by transferring them to a digital format. Assmann covers how the lifecycle of these audio files will progressively rely on digital and computer-based systems as future content will be automatically captured as they are generated digitally from creation. This article centers specifically on the broadcasting archive community. However, the principles and reasoning for why analog audio content should be preserved in a digital format are applicable to any digital archive community.
- Breaden, I. (2006). Sound practices: On-line audio exhibits and the cultural heritage archive. The American Archivist, 69(1), 33-59. doi:10.17723/aarc.69.1.t16h8h650t70gg47
Breaden presents an in-depth way to evaluate online web exhibits of digital audio files through the assessment of 32 fields. The two main targets for this evaluation were based on functionality; if they provided access and if the web exhibits provided information about the digital audio files. The article gives a thorough evaluation of the areas assessed like the audio formats supported, metadata provided, further resources, navigation styles and so on, and how they relate to the archives (p. 42). This helps create an understanding of what is necessary for a digital audio archive. He discusses the need for standardization in the defined terms for audio archives in reference to the digital audio files for better access. Breaden also discusses areas for improvements and gives recommendations for them. This paper is useful for developing a deeper understanding of digital audio archives and web-based exhibits, and for evaluating the functionality of these exhibits.
- Bressan, F., & Canazza, S. (2013). A systemic approach to the preservation of audio documents: Methodology and software tools. Journal of Electrical and Computer Engineering, 2013, 1-21. doi:10.1155/2013/489515
In this report, a methodology for preserving audio documents as well as an operational protocol and “an original open source software system that supports and automatizes several tasks along the process” (p.1) is discussed and analyzed. Bressen and Canazza discuss why there is a need to go digital with audio documents as it will increase not only access to items previously unavailable but also will further promote access and allow the use of the material. They also discuss the ethical debate in the archival community on the preservation of audio documents and give a detailed explanation of the different positions of the debates in relation to different reasons for going digital. They address the concerns of potential threats to the physical audio documents and help to further the understanding of why digitization is necessary with a detailed analysis of the methodology and software systems. This article assists in building a thorough understanding of methodologies for preserving audio documents and understanding the ethical debate of preservation in the archival community.
- Canazza, S. (2012). The digital curation of ethnic music audio archives: From preservation to restoration. International Journal on Digital Libraries, 12(2-3), 121-135. doi:10.1007/s00799-012-0088-x
The access of available ethnic music audio files is something being argued for the restoration and preservation “to avoid the permanent loss of the musical heritage, which is already heavily corrupted” (p. 121). Canazza provides a thorough discussion on the restoration, re-recording and preservation of the physical documents in addition to the digitization of these audio files in an effort to provide access and share the knowledge these files have. He gives a comprehensive overview and experiment on the techniques related to audio restoration and transfers from the physical to the digital. He provides detailed results that enhance the understanding of the different methods of restoration for the physical documents as well as explaining why it is important to have both the physical and digital copies for the future. While Canazza provides an article rich in its methods for restoration and preservation of the physical audio materials, it also contributes to the understanding and importance for the access and continuing preservation of the digital audio materials as well.
- Cornelis, O., Lesaffre, M., Moelants, D., & Leman, M. (2010). Access to ethnic music: Advances and perspectives in content-based music information retrieval. Signal Processing, 90(4), 1008-1031. doi:10.1016/j.sigpro.2009.06.020
This paper addresses the methods of access to digital audio files and the problems associated with the collections and access to the music files. The paper also provides useful information on ethnomusicology and its connection to digital audio archives. They discuss how access cannot be limited to just one area of resources but include others as well. The paper also evaluated other studies that looked at music information retrieval and ethnic music. Cornelis et al. also evaluated the importance of metadata for ethnic music as a “reflection of the broad historical and cultural diversity in which these collections have been developed” (p. 1018). The paper presents a valuable argument for ethnic music to be available for access and research with a review of previous studies covering the topic of ethnomusicology and music information retrieval over a number of pages from studies by Futrelle & Downie (2002), Seeger (2003), Tzanetakis et al. (2007), and others.
- Orio, N., Snidaro, L., Canazza, S., & Foresti, G. L. (2009). Methodologies and tools for audio digital archives. International Journal on Digital Libraries, 10(4), 201-220. doi:10.1007/s00799-010-0060-6
This article reviews previous experiments and studies done on the extraction of metadata and the A/D transfer. They discuss the issues that are involved with making audio documents available digitally and the importance of the extracting the metadata and avoiding information loss with the A/D transfers. They evaluate a method for the automatic retrieval of metadata for the digital audio files and its importance to the understanding of the contextual information. They propose using “computer vision algorithms and techniques can be applied to the automatic extraction of relevant metadata” (p. 211). Orio et al. also discuss the need for and, in return, propose audio preservation protocols. In an effort to acknowledge the variety of re-recording processes, the article also provides information on the different viewpoints from within the archivist community on the re-recording processes such as from the National Research Council of Italy, the University of Verona and Arena Foundation, and the EU under the Program Culture2000. This article will benefit those looking into the transfer and maintaining of metadata in the transfer of audio documents to digital audio documents.
- Reséndiz, P. O. (2016). Digital preservation of sound recordings. Investigación Bibliotecológica: Archivonomía, Bibliotecología E Información, 30(68), 173-195. doi:10.1016/j.ibbai.2016.06.009
Reséndiz presents an evaluation of the transfer from analog to digital as the only current way for the survival of audio documents. He provides a history of the use of sound recordings and their purpose in archives, as well as, recommendations for the digitization of audio documents. He also provides a clarification on the differences and similarities of digitization and digital preservation and gives recommendations for the digitization of audio files. He provides a thorough evaluation of the different aspects related to digital preservation and how the change towards digitization is a necessary change. This paper is beneficial in its explanation of why the transfer to digital audio files is needed withstanding the challenges that digital preservation presents. Another important aspect this paper discusses in relation to the preservation of digital audio documents is that of the metadata attached to the audio document and its necessity for the use and management in the archive. He covers this throughout the paper and consults other studies on the subject from De Jong (2001), IASA (2006), and Rodriguez (2012).
- Rodà, A. (2010). Perceptual tests and feature extraction: Toward a novel methodology for the assessment of the digitization of old ethnic music records. Signal Processing, 90(4), 1000-1007. doi:10.1016/j.sigpro.2009.10.010
Rodà presents an analysis of the results from an experiment looking at different ways of re-recording of old analog documents to digital formats, to see how the influence of the stylus affected the perceptual quality on analog ethnic music. Using “a test method derived by MUSHRA MUlti Stimulus test with Hidden Reference and Anchors” which was evaluated by 24 subjects, Rodà was able to show a significant relationship between the type of stylus and the perceptual quality (p.1001). His results show that in order to prevent losing information in the transfer, the best way for re-recording to preserve the audio document needs to be found and determined. From the results, he also determined that the “definition of a set of acoustic features related to the audio quality may contribute to improving some issues of the re-recording process” (p. 1007). Rodà’s paper will be beneficial for archivists researching methods of re-recording in the pursuit of digital audio preservation.
- Schüller, D. (2001). Preserving the facts for the future: Principles and practices for the transfer of analog audio documents into the digital domain. Journal of Audio Engineering Society, 49(7/8), 618-621.
In this article Schüller outlines “the technical, ethical and strategic aspects” for transferring to the digital domain in an effort to address the challenges of preserving and safeguarding the future of sound archives (p.618). He discusses the impact of the increasing updates on the stability of the current carriers and how new strategies are being developed in response. While this report is older it still provides archivists and those researching this field useful information on practices for preserving audio documents. He goes beyond discussing the basics of the transfer by discussing and addressing both sides of the debate within the archivist community on the transfer from analog to digital. He provides, in a condensed form, a detailed evaluation of potential loss and the stability of the new formats being used in an effort to supply an understanding and reinforces that while the transition from analog to digital is challenging it is also necessary.
- Smith, J. A. (2016). Recent efforts toward collaborative preservation of recorded sound. Notes, 72(3), 484-489. doi:10.1353/not.2016.0001
This report describes, in depth, the challenges archivists face with the preservation of digital audio documents that were brought to the forefront by the passing of the National Recording Preservation Act of 2000. These include potential legal concerns through licensing agreements, the wide variety of file formats and patron access was the most prominent challenges discussed. It also discusses the way the Internet Archive (IA) is addressing and dealing with the challenges presented, especially providing patron access to what is available. This report increases our understanding of the challenges faced with the transfer of analog to digital and the collaborative efforts undertaken by the IA and the ARChive of Contemporary Music (ARC) in an effort to promote patron access through a shared music library. Even after these challenges have been addressed and tasks are undertaken to help solve them, they still persist in one way or another. This report encourages a continuation of collaboration and large-scale efforts in order to deal with these challenges, prevent future loss of audio history and keep working towards audio preservation.
