This presentation was provided by Kira Sobers of The Smithsonian Institution, during the NISO event "Preservation and Archiving of Digital Media," held on September 11, 2019.

1. AT R I S K O F L O S I N G E V E RY T H I N G :
A D V O C A T I N G F O R A U D I O V I S U A L
M AT E R I A L S I N A M I X E D - M E D I A A R C H I V E
K I R A S O B E R S , S M I T H S O N I A N I N S T I T U T I O N A R C H I V E S

2. BACKGROUND
• Mixed-media archive
– Approximately 42,000 cubic feet of records
– 3 million historic photographs
– 62,045 audiovisual assets (as of end of August)
• In-house video digitization began in 2008
– Grant funded for work on specific collections
– Reference fulfillment after funding ended
– Audio capabilities added in 2017

3. 2016 PAN-INSTITUTIONAL SURVEY OF
AV COLLECTIONS
• Eight participating units
• Two main goals
– Document quantities and formats of
AV collections
– Determine greatest strengths and
needs
Multiple-
choice
questionnaire
Inventory
Condition
Assessment
Narrative
interview
Survey Components

4. AUDIOVISUAL PRESERVATION
READINESS ASSESSMENT (AVPRA)
• 2018-2019
• Three components
– Survey three additional units
– Collection prioritization
– Preservation readiness evaluation and
risk-of-loss scenarios
151,577
70,987
71,022
Total Assets – 293,586
Audio
Film
Video

5. CHALLENGES TO AV PRESERVATION
• Storage
– Inadequate climate controls
– Inappropriate housing
– Little room for collection
growth
• Equipment
– Obsolescence
– Maintenance
• Disaster Preparedness
– No specific plan for AV

6. CHALLENGES TO AV PRESERVATION:
INTELLECTUAL CONTROL
6
3
2
What percentage of your audiovisual collection is described at the item level?
76-100%
51-75%
26-50%
1-25%
Number of Units

7. CHALLENGES TO AV PRESERVATION:
STAFFING
IN-HOUSE PRESERVATION
Number of Staff
Members
% ofTime Digitizing
Collections
1 5%
3 10%
1 15%
1 40%
4 50%
1 100%
OUT-OF-HOUSE PRESERVATION
Number of Staff
Members
% ofTime Digitizing
Collections
1 1%
3 5%
3 10%
4 15%
1 20%
1 30%

8. CHALLENGES TO AV PRESERVATION:
FUNDING
15%
9%
12%
17%
26%
15%
6%
Where does your unit get funds for digitization of audiovisual collections?
Unit budget
Gifts/Donors
End of year funds
External competitive grants
Interntal competitive funds
Researchers
Earned Income

9. AVPRA PRESERVATION SCENARIOS
• Current Workflow:
– Estimated Number of Assets Preserved: 65,475 assets
– Estimated assets lost: 188,893
– Estimated time to preserve: approximately 394 years
• Scenario One: 15Years to Preserve All Unpreserved Assets
– Estimated Number of Assets Preserved: 254,368 assets
– Estimated assets lost: 0
– Estimated time to preserve: 15 years
– Estimated Cost to Preserve: $40,823,625
• ScenarioTwo: One-time $5 Million Dollar Budget
– Estimated Number of Assets Preserved: 32,783 assets
– Estimated assets lost: 221,585

10. MOVING FORWARD
SMITHSONIAN-WIDE
AUDIOVISUAL MASS
DIGITIZATION PILOT PROJECT
• 272 ¼” open reel audio tapes from two
units
• Sent to external vendor for digitization
• Established workflows for scalability
• Planning for future projects
PAN-INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT
• Funding for in-house workshops
• SmithsonianTranscription Center
• New positions
• High-level meetings and discussions

11. MOVING FORWARD
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION ARCHIVES
• Film rehousing project
– 1700+ motion picture films and audio
tapes
– Item-level cataloging
• Oral History Digitization
• Equipment Upgrade
– Two new workstations
– Open source tools and technology
• Preservation Budget
2,913
4,439
7,231
8,322
20,109
0 5,000 10,000 15,000 20,000 25,000
Betacam SP
VHS
1/4 inch audio tape
Film: 16mm
Compact audio cassette
Top 5 Formats in SIA’s Collection

12. THANK
YOU!
K I R A S O B E R S
S O B E R S K @ S I . E D U
• 2016 Smithsonian Pan-Institutional
Survey of Audiovisual Collections
Final Report
– https://siarchives.si.edu/about/smithsoni
an-pan-institutional-survey-audiovisual-
collections
• Audiovisual Preservation Readiness
Assessment Final Report
– https://siarchives.si.edu/about/audiovisu
al-preservation-readiness-assessment
RESOURCES