Creative Audio Archive: Preservation Assessment & Planning

FAIN: PG-287883-22

Experimental Sound Studio (Chicago, IL 60660-3107)
Matthew Mehlan (Project Director: January 2022 to April 2025)

A preservation assessment of Experimental Sound Studio’s Creative Audio Archive, a collection of audiovisual recordings chronicling experimental music and spoken word live performance mostly from Chicago and the Midwest dating from the 1950s to the early 2000s. 

The Creative Audio Archive at Experimental Sound Studio will work with a consultant to conduct an assessment of current conditions of the archive and to create detailed plans for: 1) improving physical preservation storage and environmental conditions; 2) standardizing and updating the preservation and processing of digital/digitized collections; and 3) creating clear systems, procedures, and training guides for processing and managing incoming materials at every stage of their lifecycle, from documentation through to archiving. The ultimate goal is to create a reliable and sustainable set of structures and processes that work within the ecosystem of ESS and with the resources we have as a small organization.