ARSC Technical Committee Profile

The ARSC Technical Committee (TC) mission is to provide guidance on the most effective application of audio and related technologies to preserve and make accessible collections of sound recordings. To realize this mission, the TC seeks to:

1. Track, understand, and respond to the diverse technical needs of ARSC members and the broad, international audio-preservation community.

2. Research, study, and evaluate strategies, procedures, and techniques supporting the technical activities required to optimally transfer, preserve, manage and restore audio recordings.

3. Identify or develop tiered approaches that suit the disparate technical concerns and resources of larger and smaller institutions and individual collectors.

4. Provide practical guidance on audio-preservation technology.

5. Disseminate information that represents the consensus recommendation of the TC.

6. Organize educational programs in the form of workshops, seminars, training classes, or conference sessions that deliver concentrated advice on specific topics.

In pursuing these objectives, the TC:

encourages the exploration and open discussion of technical issues, ideas, problems, and solutions;
develops liaisons with organizations and individuals outside of ARSC who are engaged in related fields, share similar objectives, and offer complementary strengths and;
interprets complex technical concepts for the benefit of a less-technical constituency.

The primary, long-term goal of the ARSC Technical Committee is to advance the application of technologies used to preserve and access sound recordings.