South Dakota State Historical Society Audio Collection Preservation Assessment

FAIN: PG-50908-10

South Dakota Department of Education (Pierre, SD 57501-2291)
Chelle Somsen (Project Director: May 2009 to August 2011)

A preservation assessment of the South Dakota State Historical Society's State Archives collection of 3,781 audio cassettes and reel-to-reel recordings, dating from 1950 to the 1990s, by an audiovisual preservation specialist. The collection includes oral histories that document immigration, ranching, homesteading, farming, and the Depression in South Dakota, as well as Chautauquas, military experiences during the two World Wars and Vietnam, and a variety of other topics dealing with state history.

A conservator will travel to Pierre, SD to assess the audio collection held at the South Dakota State Historical Society-State Archives. He will then write a report about the collection and the preservation needs of the audio collection.