Preservation of BBC Radio Collections

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Preservation of BBC Radio Collections
Adrian Williams
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Size of Archive

• The BBC has one of the largest multi-media
  archives in the world
• 1.5 million items of film and videotape
• 750,000 radio recordings
• 1.2 million commercial recordings
• 4 million items of sheet music
• 22 million newspaper cuttings
• 550,000 document files
• 20,000 rolls of microfilm
• 500,000 phonetic pronunciations

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Aims of the Project

• To protect the collection of unique masters
• To provide an easily accessible improved online
  catalogue
• To provide audio CD-Rs for loan
• To provide browse audio access from any desktop
  PC
• To provide BWAV files for later use in an on-line
  archive
• Efficient and secure mass transfer

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Summary of Radio1 Project

• Started Jan 2000-completed May 2002
• Over 40,000 items/14,000 hrs transferred
• Produced 22,000 Audio CDs for loan
• Over 1500 DVDs containing Bwav files
• Browse over intranet

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Radio1 Content
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Transfer Schematic1
Tapes requestioned from archive Four
simultaneous transfers to Sadie
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Transfer Schematic2
Audio CD burn, BWAV compiled to DVD print
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Transfer Schematic3
Quality check, return to archive Browse loaded
into Real Audio Server
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Transfer Schematic
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Schematic Data Flow
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Preservation Editing Retrieval
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Metadata
BWAV File Header
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Workflow Lessons

• Collect data in electronic format
• Enter data only once, read by all
• Avoid manual entry - use barcodes
• Automatic insertion of Metadata
• Data errors - check clean
• Make catalogue and transfer part of a team
  located in one place.

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Playback
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Preservation of BBC Radio Collections
Adrian Williams