Sound recording study reprinted

In 1959 the Library of Congress published the results of a study
(supported by a grant from The Rockefeller Foundation) on the
preservation and storage of sound recordings.  This is a landmark work,
often referred to fondly as Pickett/Lemcoe (after the study's two
authors).  Unfortunately the 74-page pamphlet went out of print even
while it remained in demand by librarians, archivists, and record
collectors.

The Library of Congress undertook this investigation of deterioration of
sound recordings while being stored in order to establish guidelines for
storage as well as techniques for library use.  Because playback wear
was specifically excluded (an area in which most of the technical
improvements were made over the succeeding 25-odd years of the "LP
era"), most of the study's findings are still relevant today for the
storage of discs and magnetic tape.  Some of the findings can also be be
applied to videotape and CD storage as well.

The Associated Audio Archives Committee of the Association for Recorded
Sound Collections (ARSC) has recently reprinted A.G. Pickett and M.M.
Lemcoe's "Preservation and Storage of Sound Recordings".  It is
available from the ARSC Executive Director

         Publication Orders
         P.O. Box 10162
         Silver Spring, MD 20914

The cost of $20 includes postage.  I thought some of you might be
interested to know that this study is again available.

Richard Koprowski
Stanford Archive of Recorded Sound
(415) 723-9312

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                  Conservation DistList Instance 5:54
                    Distributed: Sunday, May 3, 1992
                        Message Id: cdl-5-54-001
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