Re: [ARSCLIST] Technical committee. Ipod, etc.

["Steven C. Barr(x)" <stevenc@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Steven Smolian" <smolians@xxxxxxxxx>
> It's time the technical committee addressed the many issues being generated by
the ipod, computer downloads of various types and cell phone recordings.  Files
from these and other popular audio sources will be coming quickly into audio
archives of all kinds.  It is necessary to prepare our members to welcome them
with a smile rather than fear or, worse, disdain.  I'll be bringing the topic up
at the Music Library Association's Preservation committee meeting.
>
> It may also be time to revisit the issue of video when combined with audio.
>
> These are major issues.  Rather than decry their inherent low quality, it
think it ARSC's mission to prepare our community as to how best to deal with
this certain influx.
>
Note that virtually all iPod audio content is MP3 files made from
existing (usually commercial) sound recordings; IIRC, the iPod,
unlike the Walkman (et al) does not have live recording capability.
Cell phones MAY have digital image creation capability, but I would
wonder how many of the created images have any reason for archival...

OTOH, one of the main resources for local historic research here in
Oshawa, Ont'o., is a collection of several thousand old photographs
gathered by one individual simply by asking people if they had any
old pictures they didn't want...

This readdresses the important question of WHAT needs to be preserved...
which logically falls on a scale ranging from "nothing" to "everything"
(I'll admit to leaning in the latter direction, but will admit that
approach involves some inherent problems...!).

Am I correct in assuming that cell phones do NOT have the capability
of recording their concersations...?

Steven C. Barr