Sound Recordings Preservation Consultation

FAIN: PG-50392-08

Jewish Theological Seminary of America (New York, NY 10027-4649)
Naomi Steinberger (Project Director: May 2007 to August 2008)

Hiring an audiovisual preservation specialist to conduct a comprehensive needs assessment of the more than 10,000 sound recordings in the collection and provide in-house training to the library's archivists and librarians. The library has amassed a large and diverse collection of sound recordings pertaining to the history of Jewish music and performance in the 20th century. The recordings also include speeches, radio broadcasts, and lectures by prominent scholars and public figures documenting the Jewish experience in America.

The Library of The Jewish Theological Seminary seeks to address pressing needs related to the preservation and use of its nationally significant collection of more than 10,000 sound recordings in a systematic manner that meets the highest professional standards and makes the collection accessible to the broadest possible audience. A grant of $4,800 from the National Endowment for the Humanities will be used to hire consultant Chris Lacinak (Audiovisual Preservation Solutions) for two critical activities: 1) to conduct a comprehensive preservation needs assessment for the sound collection and 2) to train The Library's music archivist, public services librarian responsible for the sound collection, and general archivist in basic audio-visual collections preservation management.