Seminar H. From Betamax to 8-Tracks: Managing, Preserving, and Cataloging Archival Audiovisual Collections

Abstract

Audiovisual collections present many challenges to special collections librarians who have been trained to work with ink and paper. The vast number of formats that exist, the often obsolete technologies required for playback, the degradation of the physical objects themselves and the attendant issues in preserving and cataloging these materials are quite daunting, to say the least. This session seeks to provide an overview of the various concerns at play when it comes to A/V collections and to make you feel a little bit better about tackling them in your institutions.