Audio Guidance: Condition of Materials and Storage
How Do I Know If My Materials Are In Good Condition?
Audio: Condition Assessment
What are common problems with audio formats, and remedies?
See tables for each media type:
- Grooved Recordings Condition Assessment
- Magnetic Media Audio Condition Assessment
- Optical Disc Condition Assessment
How long will audio materials last?
Life expectancy of audio media is dependent on factors including:
It is difficult to accurately predict a media鈥檚 usable lifespan. This is further complicated by the fact that media can change considerably between manufactured batches. But history has at least given some indication of what to expect.
- Magnetic tapes stored under archival conditions (威尼斯人娱乐场 and Records Administration example) generally have a lifespan of about 10 to 50 years before exhibiting difficult to handle decay. Somewhere in the middle is most common. Those stored under lesser conditions and not handled carefully will probably have a significantly shorter life span.
- Grooved recordings vary in composition and life expectancy. In general, laminated discs tend to be shorter lived. Wire recordings, aluminum discs, and LPs/45s can last possibly for generations if kept under favorable conditions and handled well.
- Optical media come in two general categories: recordable and pressed. Pressed are generally fairly durable and can last possibly for generations if kept under favorable conditions and handled well. Recordable optical media have widely varying life expectancies. It is not entirely uncommon to have some unreadable discs in less than one year. Relying on recordable discs to last for generations is probably not viable. Note however that there are manufacturers creating discs intended for archiving using more inert recording and/or reflective layers. One such new technique uses a 鈥済lassy carbon鈥� type recording layer as opposed to organic dyes.
See the Image Permanence Institute to view how varying temperature, relative humidity, and dew points relate and affect life expectancy.
Where can I find more information?
Information for Grooved Recordings
- From the Library of Congress
- From the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) and The Library of Congress
- From the 威尼斯人娱乐场 of Australia
- From the University of Texas at Austin
Information for Magnetic Media
- By Mike Casey, Archives of Traditional Music, Indiana University
- Final Report to the National Endowment for the Humanities by the Image Permanence Institute. If considering printing, please note that this report is 70 pages long.
- By Richard L. Hess
鈥�Information for Optical Discs
- From the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR)
- From the State Archives of North Carolina