The Hehn project is saving its raw unprocessed files in WAV.
The other projects are doing the same or similar.
It is very important to do so because audio processing software is always changing and improving, but also the skills of fans and pros, and the inexperienced and experienced, can be quite different.
Saving the raw unprocessed files is part of the preservation process, for sure.
This can't be emphasized enough.



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One aspect of digitizing historic media is the necessity to always preserve the originals as well as possible in case, in the future, better digitization may be possible. Although I certainly appreciate all the effort people have made doing this, there ae some digitizations which a so bad it is pretty obvious they could have been done better. One example is the us of noise reduction. As an audio producer for broadcast over my career I have learned that noise reduction is both science and art such that the same software in different hands can yield extremely different results.

It is also true that the process of retrieving audio from less than perfect media is lso science and art.

I urge anyone doing digital transfers to also preserve the originals for possible future restoration.

FWIW,
Jay

Personally, I'm sharing my collection as much as possible now online in various venues. All of my reels have been gone for quite a while, and all of my documents, books, and fanzines have been scanned. This was mainly to downsize as we began preparing for a retirement move years ago. I retired about 4 years ago but the process of doing all of these things took time -- so I actually started when I turned 50 15 years ago.

A lot depends of what should be saved in a collection. Disc recordings, discs, and anything that is low generation copies are of course a great focus.

One of the things I have been looking for is collections of reels from the 1960s and early 1970s. Many times they have recordings that have fallen out of circulation OR have recordings close enough to the original transfers that they can upgrade the sound quality of what has been in common circulation for decades. These collections offer a special opportunity for digitization in lossless file formats AND to have modern audio processing to deal with various issues. These recordings can replace mp3 recordings that were done from reels that were far removed from the original recordings.

We have a group of volunteer collectors skilled at disc transfers and reel transfers who are doing this for four collections right now. We save raw, unprocessed recordings in WAV format and the process them separately, usually saving processed files in FLAC (and also WAV). (Reels are often difficult to transfer as many have deteriorated, or have developed problems that require heat treatment ("baking") or moisture, or both, to have them play for one last good playback).

One example has been the acquisition of the reels of collector Joe Hehn. There were also 250+ transcription discs.
This is a description of the collection and the process
https://sites.google.com/view/joehehnmemorialcollection/home
This is where we are placing the recordings -- the family wanted all of the recordings to be available to everyone, and this solution was the way that was selected. We have one year behind us and there are many more recordings to post over the next two years. In this case, this was a good collection that was all close to source, had many new items, and had not been touched or traded with others for almost 30 years.
https://archive.org/details/joe-hehn?tab=about

The expenses of transfer have been shouldered by the volunteer collectors. For discs, these hobbyists/preservationists spend much money on turntables, needles, software, storage, and other costs as part of their hobby for which they get great enjoyment, and are generous with others in this regard. Very often the biggest expense is the shipping (packaging materials + postage/UPS) of collections. To move the Hehn collection required 5 collectors, van rental, overnight hotel, and 6 months of storage rental, PLUS shipping of boxes of materials to individual collectors. OTRR help with much of the cost, about half, and the other half was borne by the 20+ collectors.

In this case it is usually helpful to work with someone who know what is in circulation and can judge which parts of a collection are worth prioritizing for transfer. We did dispose of many Hehn reels because in subsequent years his recordings had been obsoleted by new transfer efforts. Still, there are hundreds of collections awaiting transfer and processing. (We do need more volunteers, especially for reel transfers for the other collections OTRR is working on).

The Hehn collection was acquired because there was a memorialization aspect to it. Other collections are situations where the family just wants the materials moved out. Still others, and we have one like this now, a retired collector is downsizing but wants the collection digitized before the reels are disposed so he can enjoy the recordings in modern formats.

I have seen reel collections donated to academic institutions and other venues and then they end up trapped there, with no access. Many institutions will accept collections only if accompanied with an endowment that covers maintenance, storage, and administrative costs. It also means that they have to maintain audio equipment, often very obsolete, to play the collection. It is harder and harder to find people qualified to fix the equipment, and also to find parts. Collectors often have the urgency to transfer these collections a lot sooner, while many of the institutions focus first on cataloging and documenting, which can take years.

There are many, many options available. Decide what's important to the people who had the collection and get a sense of what may be the priorities for preservation and promulgation. There are many fans and collectors anxious to help find a rewarding process.

I've been in the hobby 50 years and getting involved in these transfer projects has been the most enjoyment and provided a great sense of purpose to all that collectors do.

JWW
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FYI:

OTRR is part of the Library of Congress’ Radio Preservation Task Force, and the Library of Congress is willing to take the entire OTRR media collection if this group ever ceases to be.

Hi Joe,

I have contacted many places on such a topic. One of Your best option is to arrange for collectors to transfer them and release them to the public. Many places want to know how much money you will donate along with your collection if you are thinking about a college. We don,t know yet about University of Santa Barbara with there new radio archives which will open down the road. Take care,

Walden

Sooner or later all of us must face the truth that we will not be here forever.

So I am wondering what preparations one might make for a collection of radio shows, transcriptions, those kind of things.

Has this every been discussed?

Who, besides another OTR collector would care, let alone be interested?

What organizations or schools would give them a lasting home where they would be stored properly, cared for, cataloged, maybe even used by researchers? Have any expressed an interest in such things?

I am open to hearing any ideas on the subject.

Thanks,

joe salerno