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Audio Format Resources

Association of Recorded Sound Collections (ARSC) "Guide to Audio Preservation" (2015)

The Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR), the National Recording Preservation Board (NRPB) of the Library of Congress, and the Association of Recorded Sound Collections published the ARSC Guide to Audio Preservation. The document is an exhaustive and detailed collaborative resource covering care, preservation, appraisal, and digitization of analog recorded sound formats.

Audio Engineering Society (AES) "AES49-2005" (2012)

"AES49-2005" is the AES's standard for audio preservation and restoration of magnetic tape, including care and handling practices for extended usage.

Broadcast Wave Format

The Broadcast Wave Format (BWF) is a widely-recognized digital audio file format for both digitized and born-digital audio. The Library of Congress categorized it as a digital preservation best practice for audio. In 2011, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) adopted it as a standard and published a specification for the format, as EBU-TECH 3285.

Federal Agencies Digitization Guidelines Initiative (FADGI) "Guidelines: Embedded Metadata in Broadcast WAVE Files" (2012)

Practical guidelines for embedding metadata in the Broadcast Wave Format.

International Association of Sound and Audiovisual Archives (IASA) "Guidelines on the Production and Preservation of Digital Audio Objects" (2009)

"IASA TC-04" is a technical committee paper from an accepted authority on digital audio preservation in the sound archiving field.

BWF Meta Edit Embedded Metadata Tool

BWF Meta Edit is an open source tool for embedding metadata in Broadcast Wave Format (BWF) digital audio files.

FACET (2007)

Mike Casey's authoritative and indispensible FACET: Format Characteristics and Preservation Problems Version 1.0 from Indiana University.

National Archives Audio Guidance

The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) has an extensive photo-filled analog audio identification website that navigates the variety of shapes and sizes of sound recordings, providing guidance on identifying formats and audio media types.

Association for Recorded Sound Collections (ARSC) "A Study of Embedded Metadata Support in Audio Recording Software: Summary of Findings and Conclusions" (2011)

A technical committee white paper on the persistence of embedded audio metadata across players and editing platforms.

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