National Library of Australia


Digitisation of oral history sound recordings

Project participants: National Library of Australia
Contact officer/s: Kevin Bradley, Manager: Digital and Audio Preservation Resources (email kbradley@nla.gov.au or phone 02 6262 1381)
Project description: The Oral History collection commenced acquiring some of its material in digital form in 1991 when it initiated the use of Digital Audio Tape (DAT) recorders in the field. The digitisation of the oral history collection is unique in the Library in that it is the only non-image digitisation project and, though it provides access benefits, is being driven by preservation needs.
URL of site: Access to audio material via the Web has not been implemented due to copyright and technological constraints, though a pilot project to test the online delivery of oral history material is underway.
URL for project information: n/a
Content: There are not 4,906 hours (at 9 August 2000) of DAT material in the collection - acquisitions increasing by c.850 hours per year.
Digitisation policy and priorities: NLA digitisation policy availabl efrom http://www.nla.gov.au/policy/digitisation.html. In 1995/6 the use of CD-R as a digital preservation strategy within the National Library was instituted - 5,357 hours of the collection have been preserved (at 9 August 2000), or 16% of the collection. Preservation copies increasing by c.1,600 hours per year.
Timetable: Continuing project.
Budget and funding:
Staff resources: Inhouse staff.
Technical standards:
Cataloguing and indexing:
Comments:

Project managers wishing to update the details of their Australian digitisation projects, should email the changes to alg@nla.gov.au.

Last modified: August 09 2004.