The British Library recognises the growing need for specialised training in sound archiving and has organised an internship programme aimed at developing the practical skills of archivists and technicians. The internship programme started in September 2007 in the Centre for Conservation at the British Library's flagship building in London.
Since the end of the 19th century, sound recordings have documented some of the most significant events in culture, science and history. Custodians of important audiovisual collections are faced with the challenge of ensuring that this priceless audiovisual heritage is kept accessible, but with so many formats, from wax cylinders to the latest Blu-Ray digital disc, there is a risk that obsolete and fragile formats may be lost.
Applications for the 2009/10 internships are now closed.
Training programme
The overall aim of the internships is to provide a thorough grounding in the production and preservation of digital audio objects.
The specific aims of the individual modules are:
- To provide an overview of audio recording theory and archiving principles.
- To provide an overview of the use of a transfer channel for capture of audio material to archival standards.
- To provide an overview of the care, handling, transfer from and preservation of the following audio carriers:
- Compact cassette tape
- ¼" analogue tape
- Microgroove (vinyl) discs
- Coarsegroove (shellac) discs
- Instantaneous (aluminium & lacquer) discs
- Digital media: minidisc, DAT & optical disc
The training is supervised by the Sound Archive's technical and curatorial staff. The content of the programme is flexible and can be adapted to cover topics that are of particular importance to the intern.
There is an emphasis on learning through hands-on experience with interns completing projects based on existing audio collections held in the British Library. These projects involve applying the specific audio archiving skills, acquired at the start of the internships, to the handling, archiving, documentation and data migration of the selected collection items. This provides the interns with valuable experience in a working sound archive to international archiving standards.
The interns complete all the modules, but have the opportunity to focus in on areas that are of particular interest to them.
Further information
The internships will be scheduled for different times during the year. Applicants will be required to demonstrate how they meet the selection criteria.
Further details on the programme and application process can be obtained from:
Alison Faraday
Sound Archiving Internships
Centre for Conservation
The British Library
96 Euston Road
London
NW1 2DB
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)20 7412 7776
Fax: + 44 (0)20 7412 7777
Email: alison.faraday@bl.uk
The British Library gratefully acknowledges the Heritage Lottery Fund, the Ernest Cook Trust, the D'Oyly Carte Charitable Trust, the Derek Butler Trust and the American Trust for the British Library for their support for the 2007-10 Internships.
