Preface to this web edition (2010)

This IASA Special Publication, originally published in 1984, has been out of print for a number of years. Nevertheless, many of the papers have remained relevant to this day, so as a service to audio-visual archivists, we have decided to republish them in web form.

Readers should be advised that some statements in the following papers may be outdated. When this compilation of papers was originally issued, analogue formats were used universally for archival preservation copying, and many archives still relied on paper-based catalogues. Today, analogue formats are obsolete and computerised records are the norm. Among broadcasting institutions, large-scale digital storage allows archivists to retain their entire broadcast output, reducing the need for selection. An increasing proportion of collection items in audio-visual archives are born-digital, opening up the possibility for completely automated selection, handling and management of items for archival retention, once the initial selection parameters are set. For most archives, however, selection for acquisition of legacy analogue carriers and of digital items is an ongoing process. We hope you find this selection of papers useful.

International Association of Sound and Audiovisual Archives
June 2010