AES Hosts Highly Successful Conference on Audio Archiving, Preservation & Restoration at the Library of Congress

July 30 2018, 01:00
The Audio Engineering Society recently held its first International Conference on Audio Archiving, Preservation & Restoration to a sold-out crowd of attendees at the Library of Congress National Audio-Visual Conservation Center (NAVCC) Packard Campus in Culpeper, Virginia, June 28-30, 2018. Iron Mountain Entertainment Services was the platinum sponsor, with the RIAA, and Recording Academy Producers & Engineers Wing also sponsoring the event.
 
Attendees gather during the AES International Conference on Audio Archiving, Preservation & Restoration at the Library of Congress National Audio-Visual Conservation Center (NAVCC) Packard Campus in Culpeper, Virginia, June 28-30, 2018.

Featuring premier presenters from leading organizations and facilities dedicated to the topics at hand, the Conference, chaired by educator and AES Past President John Krivit, offered an exclusive look into the art and science of creating and maintaining audio archives, as well as tours and access to the Library of Congress facilities and engineers.

“The Library of Congress National Audio-Visual Conservation Center was honored to host the AES 2018 preservation conference,” stated Greg Lukow, Chief, National Audio-Visual Conservation Center – Packard Campus. “The Library and the Society have a shared commitment to audio preservation, a commitment literally written into law by the U.S. congress 18 years ago when the AES was designated as a statutory member of the Library’s National Recording Preservation Board. Since then the Society’s participation on the Board has been instrumental in preparing the 2010 NRBP study on the state of recorded sound preservation in the U.S., and the Library’s 2012 national recording preservation plan. It was fitting, then, that AES and the Library would collaborate on the organization of a conference featuring leading experts in all areas of audio mastering and archiving from around the world, a conference that will stand as a seminal event in the history of the entire audio archiving and preservation community.”
 
Peter Alyea of the Library of Conference demonstrates their IRENE optical imaging system used to make high resolution 2D and 3D images of broken media that can’t otherwise be played back mechanically.
AES Audio Archiving, Preservation & Restoration Conference Chair, John Krivit (L) and Facilities Chair & Liaison to the Library of Congress, Brad McCoy.

The AES and Library of Congress were uniquely positioned to bring together a variety of experts representing corporate and national archivists, media companies, libraries, historical societies, labs, post-production professionals, universities and more. The conference provided an opportunity to interact with every facet of the archiving industry and a single forum to address the best ways to preserve and provide access to the wide heritage of digital and analog media formats.

The conference featured a wide range of presentations, academic papers and panel discussions focused on the latest strategies and technologies for protecting audio assets as the industry rapidly evolves. Some important themes were addressed, including physical/object based preservation & material science, handling and storage of audio carriers, preservation by digitization, mechanical vs. optical transfer, magnetic media, digitization, and restoration of content from obsolete disk formats, preservation issues for emerging high-end audio formats, preserving legacy professional formats, multi-track tapes and obsolete digital formats, considerations for archiving in preserving commercial audio, aesthetic considerations in digital restoration of historical audio collaborative performance, virtual reality, born-digital assets and much more.
 
Cole Quest and the City Pickers performing their take on Woody Guthrie's (Cole's grandfather) "This Land Is Your Land" which Jerry Fabris, Curator of the Thomas A. Edison Historical Site, captures as a live cylinder recording at the AES Audio Archiving, Preservation & Restoration Conference.

The event’s Platinum Sponsor, Iron Mountain Entertainment Services, played a key role in the Conference. “This hugely successful AES event was an exploration of topics that are near and dear to the overall missions of Iron Mountain Entertainment Services — preserving and archiving our industry’s most valued works,” stated Greg Parkin, Iron Mountain Entertainment Services Vice President, North America. “We are pleased that our very own Kelly Pribble was able to participate on the panel 'The Challenge of Archiving Multitrack Recordings' and contribute a treasure-trove of knowledge and experience alongside industry icons like George Massenburg and Jack Douglas. We look forward to working closely with AES and other key partners such as the Recording Academy to bring these important issues to the forefront."
 
The panel “The Challenge of Archiving Multitrack Recordings” at the AES (Audio Engineering Society) Conference on Audio Archiving, Preservation & Restoration, held on Friday, June 29, 2018. Pictured L-R: Iron Mountain Audio Engineer Kelly Pribble; Greg Parkin, Iron Mountain Entertainment Services Vice President, North America; John Krivit, Conference Chair, 2018 AES Conference on Audio Archiving, Preservation and Restoration, as well as Past-President, Audio Engineering Society; and Rob Friedrich, Library of Congress.
Participants in the panel “The Challenge of Archiving Multitrack Recordings.” Pictured L-R, front row: Toby Seay (Drexel University Audio Archives and Current IASA President); Nathan Chandler (University of Calgary); and moderator George Massenburg (McGill University). Back row: John Krivit (Conference Chair, 2018 AES Conference on Audio Archiving, Preservation and Restoration, as well as Past-President, Audio Engineering Society); Rob Friedrich (Library of Congress); Kelly Pribble (Iron Mountain Audio Engineer); and Jack Douglas (Producer: John Lennon, Aerosmith).

Another one of this year’s sponsors, who has worked closely over the years with AES and the Library of Congress, was the The Recording Academy Producers & Engineers Wing – a key proponent of the audio archiving, restoration, and preservation. “Congratulations to John Krivit, Brad McCoy, Nadja Wallaszkovits, David Ackerman and the entire conference committee for assembling this important gathering,” said Maureen Droney, Recording Academy Managing Director, P&E Wing and Recording Technology. “The technical deep dives were enlightening, and the content - from 1950’s jazz masters on the Ed Sullivan show to field recordings from the 1940s, historic Civil Rights broadcasts and so much more - was truly moving. It shone a bright light on the true meaning and cultural importance of ‘archiving and preservation’ and those who do its work. Bravo AES!”

"The AES has a long and fruitful tradition of partnering with the P&E Wing on critical issues that affect the ways recordings are made and preserved. We were so pleased to have Maureen Droney, Chuck Ainlay and Michael Romanowski of the P&E Wing alongside Rob Friedrich of the Library of Congress on our panel 'Archiving and Best Practices for Modern Production Workflows' so they could speak to the recently updated Recording Academy recommendations for hi-resolution music production and master delivery. Many artists have now, in effect, become their own curators, solely responsible for ensuring that their artistic output is preserved. To this end, the Producers and Engineers Wing's advocacy for best practices is critical to the preservation of our cultural heritage," stated John Krivit.
 
Participants from the P&E Wing panel "Archiving and Best Practices for Modern Production Workflows." Pictured L-R, bottom row: panelists Chuck Ainlay (METAlliance), Michael Romanowski (Coast Mastering), Rob Friedrich (Library of Congress) and Maureen Droney (Recording Academy Managing Director, P&E Wing and Recording Technology). Top row: Brad McCoy (Senior Studio Engineer in the Audio Preservation Unit at the Library of Congress Packard Campus; also Facilities Chair and Liaison to the Library of Congress for this conference), panel moderator Konrad Strauss (Indiana University) and John Krivit (conference chair; also Past-President, Audio Engineering Society).
Participants from the P&E Wing panel "Archiving and Best Practices for Modern Production Workflows," held on Saturday, June 30, 2018. Pictured L-R: panelists Chuck Ainlay (METAlliance), Michael Romanowski (Coast Mastering), Rob Friedrich (Library of Congress) and Maureen Droney (Recording Academy Managing Director, P&E Wing and Recording Technology). Not pictured: panel moderator Konrad Strauss (Indiana University).

The Conference brought in attendees from over 20 countries including Japan, Korea, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, India, Sudan, Nigeria, England, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, France, Spain, Mexico, Canada and all regions of the USA. Additional conference partners included the RIAA, iZotope, Memnon, CEDAR, NOA, ATC Loudspeakers, Merging Technologies, Prism Sound, Time-Step, ATR Magnetics, Cube-Tec, MARS and the NAVCC.

Building on the goals and standards of both the Audio Engineering Society and the Library of Congress, this year’s Conference served as a basis for further research and implementation of new techniques in the archiving, preservation, and restoration of audio assets. The challenges of preserving and providing access to the wide heritage of digital and analog media formats will also be a focus of the upcoming 145th International AES Convention being held in New York City, NY, October 17 – 20, 2018. The AES New York Convention will bring together a variety of experts representing corporate and national archivists, media companies, libraries, historical societies, labs, post-production professionals, universities and other more, to gain further insight into these increasingly important challenges and opportunities. 

Research papers presented at the AES Conference on Audio Archiving, Preservation, and Restoration are available for download in the AES E-Library, and are available for free to AES Members.
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