Salvaging Sound Recordings on Discs

Salvaging Sound Recordingson Discs

The strong force of the river, 5-7 feet surged into the National Czech &Slovak Museum & Library

From the minute the records were packed out of the library, we kept them “stewing in their juices,” hosing them down periodically (and keeping the lids on).

Containing the smell was a huge challenge:•Thermostat to continuous air•Charcoal filter added to HVAC•Starbrites set out•Boxes stored offsite in a “dirty” room•Staff equipped with charcoal filtered respirators

Staff safety a concern:•Fitted for respirators•Antibacterial lotion before and after wearing gloves•Wore plastic, disposable aprons•Wiped respirators with alcohol wipes every night; filter stored overnight in ziplock bag•Showered and washed clothes at end of shift

Extracting from the boxes safely took patience.

LPs were carefully cut out of the outer plastic around the jacket and then around the album.

Wash in water with capful of photo flo or drop of gentle dish soap; brush circular with groove; Rinse in separate water.

Retain sleeves for accession information.

Note cotton padding

Record jackets rarely rinsed; mostly just hung up to dry and then pressed. A fan forced air through stack, directed by plastic sheets.

Boxes without lids and loosely packed posed biggest problem.

Supraphon LPs and 78s most likely to have problems – mold, ink running.Monitored as hanging to dry, wiping ink off as needed.

The “ghosting” is embedded dirt.

45s were a mixed bag. Record was in a paper sleeve inside jacket; entire album incased in plastic. Some were then grouped together and bagged with flap over it. Those came out clean!

•Use distilled water•Brush out like wheel spoke NOT circular•Make new copy

CDs/DVDsAll 100 were salvaged and playable.

Cleaning covers tricky•Dry clean with eraser shavings•Lift dirt off without pulling up text•Damp cloth swipe, gently, with cotton moistened with Vulpex soap and water

Patience!

Discard inner board – it’s not archival; and it is smelly, moldy, embedded with dirt.

Experimental yet but looks quite promising.Using HenkoVac vacuum packing machine to flatten covers.

HenkoVac donated to UI Libraries by LBS/Archival Products.

Flattened

Unflattened

New 3flap enclosureNote rounded corner, tapered edge

Salvaged cover is slid into plastic sleeve; sandwiched between 3 flap and plastic; no adhesives used.

When the image is stuck to the plastic, we can often partially “salvage” the cover by digitizing the paper cover lined up with the image on the plastic.

Still learning!The carbon fiber record brush that Caitlin is using in the photo is actually best used dry. The larger brush is better in water.

Records get a final cleaning in the lab; once in filtered water with a little Photo Flo, then rinsed, and air dried. Brushed with micro brush before and after as needed.

Randomly sampled records played just fine.

We are now using the same cleaning method for recorded discs selected for digitizing.

Supplies used:•AjaxAntibacterial Soap (local store purchase)•Photoflo (local store purchase)•Dish Drainer #574701 (Target.com)

•Starbrite Mildew Control Bags #1015145Tarp and Cover Superstore931 S Chapel StreetNewark, DE 19713800-453-7379

•12” Record Jacket Sleeve #SLP3Bags Unlimited7 Canal StreetRochester, NY 14608-1910800-767-2247 bagsunlimited.com

•Carbon Fiber Record Brush #DC-05PNVI Sleeve City LLC7600 Appling Center Drive Ste 102Memphis, TN 38133866-380-4168 sleevetown.com

Ebaugh, Alicia. "Salvaging Collections is Like a Hidden Treasure Hunt." The Gazette (Cedar Rapids), August 4, 2008. http://www.gazetteonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080804/NEWS/413671225/0/rss04

Includes 4 videos:• How to salvage flood-damaged photos• How to salvage flood-damaged LP’s, CD’s and DVD’s• How to repair flood damaged books• How to salvage flood damaged documents

Selected Bibliography

• Byers, Fred R. Care and Handling of CDs and DVDs: a Guide for Librarians and Archivists. Council on Library and Information Resources and National Institute for Standards and Technology, October 2003. http://www.clir.org/pubs/reports/pub121/contents.html

• Cylinder, Disc, and Tape Care in a Nutshell. Library of Congress Preservation,

viewed 20 January 2009. http://www.loc.gov/preserv/care/record.html

• Finch, Lorraine and John Webster. Caring for CDs and DVDs. National Preservation Office, British Library, July 2008. http://www.bl.uk/npo/pdf/cd.pdf

• Saving Sound: Identifying Endangered Recordings and Planning for the Preservation of Audio Collections. Chicago, Illinois: ALA/ALCTS, 2007.Includes presentations from the 2005, 2006 and 2007 Association for Library Collections & Technical Services conferences. Files in pdf, WORD, ppt, and wav. Compact disc, CD-ROM.

Preservation Beathttp://blog.lib.uiowa.edu/preservation/

Nancy E. KraftUniversity of Iowa LibrariesPreservation100 Main LibraryIowa City, IA 52242-1420319/335-5286 FAX 319/335-5900email: [email protected] http://www.lib.uiowa.edu/preservation/