[padg] Columbia AV survey tool now available

[Janet Gertz <gertz@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Columbia University Libraries has developed and tested a tool to 
inventory and assess the physical condition of audio and moving image 
materials.  The /Preservation Survey Tool for Audio and Moving Image 
Collections/ and the accompanying instruction manual are now available 
for download to anyone interested in surveying a collection at 
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/services/preservation/index.html.

This survey tool is designed for use by librarians and archivists who 
are not media experts.  It provides a mechanism to develop preservation 
priorities by recording quantities and types of audio and moving image 
materials, documenting the physical condition of the media and their 
housings, collecting information about existing levels of intellectual 
control and intellectual property rights, and evaluating their potential 
research value.

Applicable either to an item-by-item inventory or a random-sample 
survey, the survey tool allows for but does not require collection of a 
great deal of detail about each item.  Most fields provide drop-down 
menus to minimize keying and to assure consistent use of vocabulary. 
Technical terminology is based on that used by the Audio Engineering 
Society, Association of Moving Image Archivists, and other relevant 
organizations

Survey-wide and collection-specific reports can be generated, as well as 
lists of collections ranked by research importance and degree of 
physical damage, and lists of the different media.

Funding to design the survey was provided by the Andrew W. Mellon 
Foundation.

Janet Gertz
Director, Preservation & Digital Conversion Division
Columbia University Libraries