Preservation Policy

1. Introduction

1.1 Aim

The aim of preservation is to provide permanent access to the heritage of sound, associated paper-based documentation materials, photographs and other artefacts held in the SA/NTK. The prerequisite for permanent accessibility is the survival of the sonic and visual content of the often unstable and perishable materials upon which the heritage is recorded. For this reason, preservation is a central and vital part of the archive’s functions.

1.2 Definition

Preservation is defined as all the practices and procedures necessary to ensure permanent access, with a minimum loss of quality, to the sonic content of the materials and to related artefacts and documentation materials.

1.3 Elements

Preservation has several elements: storage, that is, keeping the material in the best possible environment and minimising any mechanical risk through use; collection control; conservation; duplication or dubbing; and quality control. Collection control includes technical identification, labelling, maintenance of technical records, surveillance and housekeeping.

2. Principles

2.1 Acquisition

In order to achieve the highest possible standard of preservation it is necessary to acquire the original, or a copy of the selected material which is as close to the original as possible. This becomes the archival copy.

2.2 Integrity of Works

The integrity of the original material must not be interfered with, since editing or changing the quality of the work itself results in a different work.

2.3 Priorities

Wherever possible, the relative instability of a carrier, document or artefact (or series thereof) shall be assessed so that a preservation priority can be assigned. The preservation priority allocated will have taken into account the heritage value and the relative stability of the collection materials.

2.4 Classification

All materials in the archive’s collections will be and identified by form and status. The chemical nature of the media, and the contradictory demands of preservation and access, may require duplication within the collection. As resource constraints prevent the duplicating of all archival material, preservation copying must be prioritised within the collection.

2.5 Preservation versus Access

While the aim of preservation is to ensure permanent accessibility to the collection, access demands cannot be allowed to compromise preservation requirements at any time. SA/NTK will otherwise be in the position of providing short term access at the cost of long term preservation.

Archival material within the permanent custody of SA/NTK shall only leave its premises to be returned to a depositor or sent to a laboratory or studio authorised by the depositor, Chief Archivist or his/her delegate.

The archival copy should be handled as little as possible. To this end it may be judged necessary to make a preservation copy. In some circumstances a further listening copy may be made, if the demands of public access require it. The use and handling of the archival and preservation copies shall be carefully monitored and recorded.

2.6 Preservation Copy

In order to minimise further use of the archival copy, preservation copies will be made in a format judged to maximise both the fidelity of the copy and also its potential longevity. These shall be stored in optimum preservation conditions to maximise their useful life.

2.7 Storage

All collection material shall be stored in an environment that is designed to keep it viable for as long as possible. Viability in this context means survival with minimal loss or deterioration of the sounds or other archival information recorded on or in the said collection material.

Policy Documents

Sound Archives/Nga Taonga Korero operates within the framework of written policies. These policies provide consistent guidance for staff in areas of preservation, public access to archives, and the selection and acqusition of new recordings. These are viewable online.

Access Policy

Preservation Policy

Selection and Acquisition Policy

They will subject to amendment from time to time, and may also be supplemented with policies covering other areas of our work.

If you wish to make a donation or have any query please contact us.

 

Secondary Navigation and Search

Weekly Audio Feature

Any re-use of this audio requires permission.

Hear more audio features

Why does this site look so plain?