1.
Getting Started and Planning for Digitization
July 18, 2018, 2pm (ET)
Casey Davis-Kaufman, WGBH Media Library and Archives Associate Director / AAPB Project Manager
Rebecca Fraimow, WGBH Media Library and Archives / AAPB Digital Ingest Manager
Ryn Marchese, AAPB Engagement and Use Manager
Preserving Your Station Legacy
with the

2.
AAPB
BACKGROUND
Ryn Marchese, AAPB Engagement and Use Manager

3.
a collaboration between the
Library of Congress and WGBH
The AAPB coordinates a national
effort to preserve at-risk public
media before its content is lost to
posterity and provides a central web
portal for access to the unique
programming that public stations
have aired over the past 70+ years.
Mission

4.
Background
2011 - CPB Inventory project - identified more
than 3 million items kept at 120 stations,
archives, producers, university collections across
the country dating back to the 1950s
2012 - CPB Digitization Project - 40,000 hours of
digital material initially from more than 100
stations
2013 – WGBH and LOC were selected as the
“Permanent Home”

5.
AAPB Collaboration
Shared Responsibilities
• Overall governance
• Policy
• Collection development
• Ingest
• Rights decisions
Preservation Access & Outreach

6.
Packard Campus for Audio Visual Conservation

7.
Goals
Coordinate a national effort to preserve and
make accessible as much significant public
broadcasting materials as possible
Become a focal point for discoverability
Provide standards and best practices for
storing, processing, preserving, and making
accessible historical content
Facilitate the use of archival content by
scholars, educators, students, journalists, media
producers, researchers, and the public
Increase public awareness of the significance of
historical public media and the need to preserve it
and make it accessible

8.
More than 50,000 hours of digitized and
born digital material from over 100 public
broadcasting stations and organizations
Website launched October 2015
>34,000 streaming video and audio files in
an Online Reading Room (38% of full
collection)
Public access to the full collection of video
and audio on-site at WGBH and the Library
of Congress
>2.5 million inventory records from 120
stations, in addition to the digitized items,
are available for research
The AAPB Collection
www.americanarchive.org

9.
A Centralized
Web Portal
for Discovery
All AAPB digitized content discoverable
through single searches
Direct links to public media on other sites
(KUHT, Louisiana Public Broadcasting,
Minnesota Public Radio, WNYC)
One-stop shopping
Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) as a
model
Helps solve the separate silos syndrome for
search and discovery

10.
Online
Reading
Room
(ORR)
ORR totals more than 34,000
programs available to anyone in the
United States
Online access in accordance with the
copyright law of the United States,
including the legal doctrine of fair use
Access for research, educational, and
informational purposes only
Inclusion in the ORR determined by
analysis of types of programs and
examination of individual series and
programs

11.
Archival
Management
System
• Participating organizations have access
to the Archival Management System
(AMS) where station administrators can:
• Search and access their metadata
records
• Export their records
• Import additional records
• Edit their records
• Watch/listen to their low-res proxy
files
• Download their low-res proxy files
• WGBH is currently working with AVP
and Indiana University to develop a new
and improved AMS, which will launch in
late 2018.

12.
Commitment to
Growth
The Library and WGBH are committed to growing
the AAPB collection by up to 25,000 hours of
digitized, or “born digital” content per year
This year, we have targeted outreach to stations in
states, regions and communities currently
underrepresented in the AAPB.
We are currently lacking any content in the
archive from 12 states and the territories
(excluding Guam)
We are providing grant writing assistance to
organizations submitting applications for
digitization grant programs
We have created a grant proposal document
package for organizations that want to collaborate
with us on proposals

13.
Deed of Gift - Transfer of Ownership
Subject to the terms of this Deed of Gift, (“Donor”) hereby irrevocably
donates and conveys to the WGBH Educational Foundation and the
Library of Congress on behalf of the American Archive of Public
Broadcasting ("AAPB") (this Deed of Gift refers individually to the Donor
and the AAPB collaborators each as “a Party” and collectively as “the
Parties”) the materials described in Exhibit A to this Deed of Gift (the
"Donated Materials"), all rights, title, and interest that Donor possesses
therein and in all metadata related to the Donated Materials (the
“Metadata”).

14.
Deed of Gift – Copyright Ownership
To the best of Donor’s knowledge (check one):
☐ a. Donor controls all copyrights in the Donated Materials (i.e., Donor
created or acquired the copyrights in all Donated Materials).
☐ b. Donor controls some of the copyrights in the Donated Materials
(i.e., Donor created or acquired the copyrights in some of the Donated
Materials, but other individuals or organizations control some
copyrights).
☐ c. Donor controls none of the copyrights in the Donated Materials.
Donor shall include any information it may have on the ownership or
control of the copyrights in the Donated Materials on Exhibit A.

15.
Deed of Gift – Assignment of Permissions
Assignment of rights (check one):
☐ a. Donor irrevocably assigns to AAPB any and all rights, including copyrights, that Donor
controls in the Donated Materials.
☐ b. Donor makes the Donated Materials available for use subject to the Creative Commons CC0
1.0 Universal License (“no rights reserved”).
☐ c. Donor grants AAPB an irrevocable, non-exclusive, royalty-free worldwide perpetual license
for AAPB’s discretionary uses of the Donated Materials, in addition to all uses permitted by law.
Such discretionary uses may include but are not limited to cataloging, preservation, copying and
migration for preservation and access purposes, exhibition, display, and making works available for
non-commercial public access (including online), in accordance with AAPB policy and with
applicable law.

16.
Deed of Gift- Use by Patrons
Re-use of Donated Materials by patrons
☐ I. Donor further authorizes AAPB to make the Donated Materials
available for re-use by patrons subject to the Creative Commons
Attribution license or such other license as is indicated below, if any:
___________________________________________
☐ II. Donor does not authorize AAPB to make the Donated Materials
available for re-use by patrons.
Metadata
Donor makes the Metadata accessible under the Creative Commons CC0
1.0 Universal License.

17.
Imperative Need The 2012 National Recording Preservation Plan stated
that:
“many endangered analog formats must be
digitized within the next 15 or 20 years before
further degradation makes preservation efforts all
but impossible.”
As this report was years in the making, we may now have
no more than 10 to 15 years to preserve this material
Moreover, “audiovisual materials are the fastest-growing
segment of our nation’s archives and special collections,”
as reported by the Library of Congress
The audiovisual records of the 20th
century are increasingly at risk

18.
DIGITIZATION →
PRESERVATION
Rebecca Fraimow, AAPB Digital Ingest Manager

19.
Risks to
audiovisual
collections
• Environmental and storage inadequacies
• Certain formats are deteriorating
quickly
– Video: 2 inch, ½ inch, 1 inch, ¾ inch
(Umatic), D1, D3
– Audio: Cylinders, Lacquer & aluminum
disks, open reel audio (1/4 inch), DAT
• Playback and recording equipment are
becoming obsolete
• People with expertise in analog media
and equipment are getting older

20.
Film
Video

21.
Rules for Handling
and Storage
Avoid touching the magnetic tape
Store tape vertically inside its case
Rewind or fast-forward cassettes to the beginning
or end for storage
Keep cool and dry, but not frozen
(40°-65° F, 25%-50% RH, no fluctuation)
Inert plastic containers are best
Engage record protection mechanisms

22.
Record Protection

23.
Inventorying
– knowing
what you
have…
So that your producers can reuse content
So that you can accurately provide collection
information to vendors, to obtain quotes for
digitization
For insurance purposes
So that you can provide researchers with access
to your archival collection as a historic record of
your community
So that you can potentially license and build
revenue from your archival content

24.
What do I
need to
record?
The more information, the better
– Format
– Duration (of the tape and the content, if known)
The duration of the tape says something about the
fragility of the medium (the thinner the tape, the
longer it is)
– Generation
– Location (box, shelf, room)
– Title (series, episode, episode number)
– Date recorded
– Who was on the recording?
– Any other identifying information written on the tape label
– Identifier of duplicates (if any)
– Condition/deterioration notes
– Tape label ID – if you don’t already have identifiers on the tapes,
assign unique identifiers or barcodes to every single tape. This ID
can eventually become the identifier of the digital files if the tapes
are digitized.

25.
Format & Duration - Identifying Information

26.
Generation Keywords to Look For
Camera Original
Master
Edit Master
Original Footage
Viewing Copy
Rough Cut
Dub

27.
Condition/Deterioration - Warning Signs

28.
Invisible Damage
Sticky shed syndrome
Dropout
Tape scratches
Binder loss Other Invisible Factors
Recording standard
LP mode/SP mode
Playback environment

29.
The Question of Playback

30.
Preservation Quality
Digitization (Audio)
PRESERVATION FILE
codec: PCM .bwf(broadcast WAV)
sample rate: 96 kHz
bit depth: 24-bit
ACCESS FILE
codec: .mp3
sample rate: 44.1 kHz
bit depth: 16-bit

31.
Preservation Quality
Digitization (Video)
PRESERVATION FILE
codecs: 10-bit uncompressed v210, JPEG2000, FFV1
color space: YUV
chromasubsampling: 4:2:2
aspect ratio: preserve original (for video, usually 4:3)
wrappers: .mov, .avi
audio: 48 kHz/24-bit PCM
MEZZANINE FILE/PRODUCTION MASTERS
most useful in production environments
codecs: ProRes, DV50, high-quality H.264
ACCESS FILE
should be suitable for web playback, streaming, or
institutional viewing
can be digital or physical (DVD)
codecs: low-quality H.264, MPEG-2

32.
Normalizing Formats for Preservation
Why do it?
It’s easier for to work with a smaller
subset of common file types
Unusual, complex, or highly proprietary
formats are difficult to preserve
Raw video is costly in terms of storage
space and processing time
Why not do it?
Video is complex, and it requires a lot of
planning and technical expertise to
make sure all important characteristics
are being preserved
It’s not always possible to restore the
original from a transcoded version
Every technological process provides an
opportunity for error or corruption

33.
PLANNING FOR A
DIGITIZATION PROJECT
Casey Davis-Kaufman, AAPB Project Manager

34.
Identify
Your
Resources
• Funding for digitization
• Storage (for files once digitized)
• People
– Project management
– Quality control
– Ongoing management of digital files
• Skills

35.
Create
Policies
• What descriptive, technical and preservation
metadata is important to create and manage after
you’ve digitized your collection?
• What are your target digital formats?
• How will you store your digital files?
• What are your plans for quality control?
• How will you ensure security and integrity of the
files?
• Who is responsible for decision making? Who else in
the organization will be involved in archiving and
“digital preservation”?
• What are your plans for continued professional
development of staff?
• How will you provide access to your collection?
• What is your plan for evaluation and updating of
your policies?

36.
National Digital
Stewardship Alliance’
Levels of Preservation
Preservation isn’t all or nothing.
Aim to make small steps. You
can use the NDSA Levels of
Preservation as a guide.
http://www.digitalpreservation.g
ov/documents/NDSA_Levels_Arc
hiving_2013.pdf

37.
Select what to
preserve
Obsolescence Historical Value

38.
Format-based
Triage
Highest priority
• older formats
• obsolete formats
• small formats (fragile tape)
• master material
• production chain: ¾”, Betacam or
DV masters VHS or DVD access
copies

39.
Content-based
prioritization
• Recommended order or prioritization:
– Master programs
– Raw interviews
– B-roll
• Other considerations:
– Is it unique?
– Is it created and/or owned by your station?
– Does the content document events, topics, places, persons,
opinions, or attitudes of historical, cultural, political,
sociological, anthropological, scientific, educational,
technological, or aesthetic significance?
– Does the content reflect significant international, national,
regional, state, or local culture, politics, or society;
or presents the viewpoints of indigenous communities,
subcultures, societal groups, or population segments ?
– Does the content document unique aspects of the style and
practice of radio and television journalism?
– Did the content have a significant impact when first
broadcast and/or receive awards?
– Does it contain raw footage, including interviews, that are
unique and represent significant historic events, or some
unique aspect of the local community?

40.
Identify your
Partners –
The Value of
AAPB
Participation
Copies preserved long-term at the Library of
Congress
Orgs don’t have to manage their own access platform
and media servers
Orgs will have access to the AAPB’s Archival
Management System (metadata repository) where
you can search, manage, update, and access your
records and media
Org’s collection becomes part of a national initiative
and has broader reach
AAPB archivists provide guidance and project
management support during digitization projects
Collection could be included in AAPB initiatives such
as transcript creation, crowdsourcing, automated
metadata creation

41.
Digitizing
with a
trusted
vendor
Why do it?
• Unlike paper/photo digitization, video
digitization requires extensive expertise and
training, especially for older formats
• Challenging and expensive to equip and staff a
high-quality digitization station from scratch
• Vendors maintain equipment that can clean,
repair, and play back a variety of rare, complex,
and obsolete formats, increasing the odds of a
successful transfer

42.
Digitizing
In- House
Why do it?
• You control the process from beginning to end
• Can be less costly to invest in equipment for
common formats than to pay a vendor
• No transit risks for the original materials
• Build institutional capacity to understand and
handle physical and digital a/v

43.
What does
the vendor
need to
know to
provide a
quote?
• Format and duration are the drivers of
the cost of digitization.
• Vendors need to know:
– How many tapes you have per format
– Estimated duration of the tapes per format
• Digitization happens in real time, so a
90 minute tape will take 90 minutes to
digitize.
– Any known damage/deterioration

44.
Requests for
Proposals
(RFP) -
Components
• Naming conventions
• Closed captioning
• Technical and preservation metadata requirements
• Required storage media and delivery
• File package organization
• Checksum requirements
• Physical storage conditions
• Care and handling
• Proposed schedule
• Review windows
• Replacement policy
• Reporting requirements
• Budget for extraordinary intervention
• Other costs to include or exclude
• Explanation and goals of the project
• Detailed breakdown of what will be
digitized
• Staffing expectations
• Workspace and technical
requirements
• Scheduling protocols
• Expected quality control procedures
• Shipping expectations
• Inspection and cleaning protocols
• Target digital formats *AAPB can provide you with our template RFP

45.
Additional
AAPB Grant
Proposal
Support
• AAPB can provide support to you and your station in
preparing for digitization projects and for submission to
the AAPB archive.
• Most digitization grant programs require that you include
extensive documentation regarding your preservation and
discoverability plans, project plans, and technical plans.
We can provide you with:
– AAPB’s Model Deed of Gift Agreement
– AAPB One-Pager and additional language for inclusion
– AAPB Digital Preservation Plan
– AAPB Discoverability Plan
– Digitization RFP
– A sample archivist/project manager job description
– Sample project plan and corresponding timeline
– AAPB Technical Plan
– A letter of support
– Narrative review and edit

46.
Grant
programs
• Council on Library and Information Resources’
Recordings at Risk program
• Council on Library and Information Resources’
Digitizing Hidden Collections program
• National Endowment for the Humanities’
Humanities Collections and Reference Resources
program
• National Historical Records and Publications
Commission’s Access to Historical Records
program
• Grammy Foundation
• National Film Preservation Foundation
• National Recording Preservation Foundation
• Local community funders

47.
Additional
Resources
• Association of Moving Image Archivists
– http://amianet.org
• AMIA Education Committee
– https://amiaeducomm.wordpress.com
• International Association of Sound and Audiovisual Archives
– http://www.iasa-web.org
• ARSC Guide to Audio Preservation
– https://www.clir.org/pubs/reports/pub164/
• NEDCC Preservation Leaflets
– https://www.nedcc.org/free-resources/preservation-
leaflets/overview
• NDSA Levels of Digital Preservation
– http://ndsa.org/activities/levels-of-digital-preservation
• Bay Area Video Coalition’s AV Artifact Atlas
– https://bavc.org/preserve-media/preservation-tools/av-
artifact-atlas
• University of Illinois’ Preservation Self-Assessment Program –
Collection ID Guide for Audiovisual Media
– https://psap.library.illinois.edu/collection-id-guide

48.
americanarchive.org
@amarchivepub
facebook.com/amarchivepub
@amarchivepub