Audio preservation work draws on a wide range of skills and understanding including proper reproduction of legacy recorded sound formats, digital and analog audio recording, digital editing, systems testing for quality control, and technical and administrative metadata. The committee seeks to be a resource to the AES membership by disseminating information about these and other topics related to the archiving and preservation of audio carriers and the information, sometimes referred to as 'essence',  therein contained.

The committee recognizes that audio preservation is not necessarily an 'end of life'  process for audio objects but rather is a set of principles and procedures that can be applied from the time of creation for any given audio object. This is immediately relevant in a world of "born digital" audio. The committee is therefore interested in providing educational meetings and publications which we hope will benefit AES members involved in diverse segments of the audio industry.

Audio Archiving for 100 Years and Longer, by Henry Gladney, 2001.
Description: Journal Article

AMPEX - patent for tape baking, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Description: Patent
Notes: Search for patent number 5,236,790. A full PDF can be had by clicking the "Images" button, then the "full pages" button.

THE ARCHEOPHONE - A modern technology audio cylinder player made in France.
Description: External Link

ARSC, Association for Recorded Sound Collections
Description: External Link
Notes:The article, Tape Degradation Factors and Challenges in Predicting Tape Life, by Richard Hess was published by ARSC in its Journal Vol 39, No 2 in Fall 2008. An earlier version of the paper is published by the Audio Engineering Society as paper 6970 from the AES 121st Convention October 2006.

The ARSC Guide to Audio Preservation (May 2015) is also CLIR Pub 164, co-published by ARSC, CLIR and the Library of Congress. The PDF is downloadable for free; print copies are $30USD. CLIR Pub 164 page:

ATR Services - A NY, USA vendor of new recording tape (ATR Magnetics) and Ampex recorder services.
Description: External Link

AV ARTIFACT ATLAS, an aid to identifying media glitches. Hosted by Bay Area Video Coalition, San Francisco CA U.S.A.
Description:External Link

AV Preserve, (NY, USA) a consulting firm for AV preservation.
Description: External Link

BRITISH LIBRARY, have published their extensive Manual of Analog Audio Restoration Techniques by Peter Copeland (2008). The PDF is a free download.
Description: External Link

CCAHA, the Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts (Philadelphia, PA USA) works mainly with paper, but has a Vimeo video series on AV conservation. Of interest here is a 20- minute 2014 video primer on audio preservation by George Blood. http://www.ccaha.org/education/videos
Description: External Link

CLIR Council on Library and Information Resources, a Washington DC non-profit, often working with the Library of Congress.
Description:External Link
Notes: Notable among CLIR Reports:

The CLIR Pub 164 is the ARSC Guide to Audio Preservation (May 2015), co-published by ARSC, CLIR and the Library of Congress. The PDF is downloadable for free; print copies are $30USD. CLIR Pub 164 page:

LC/CLIR pub 156 is the Library of Congress National Recording Preservation Plan (December 2012). A free PDF download or paper copy for $25USD.

LC/CLIR pub 137 is Capturing Analog Sound for Digital Preservation: report of a roundtable discussion of best practices for transferring analog discs and tapes, from March 2006.

CLIR pub 121 with NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology, USA), Care and Handling of CDs and DVDs, a Guide for Librarians and Archivists, by Fred Byers, 2003. Online text or PDF:

Directory of Information Sources on Scientific Research Related to the Preservation of Sound Recordings, Still and Moving Images and Magnetic Tape, Compiled by Dr. Margaret S. Child (1993). Online text only:

Measurement and Evaluation of Analog-to-Digital Converters Used in the Long-Term

Preservation of Audio Recordings by Ken Pohlmann, 2006

FADGI: Guidelines: Audio Digitization System Performance
Description: External Link

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY (NY, USA)AVDb software for collection assessment (See also I-U FACET for tools).
Description:External Link
Notes: Their other activities here:

These documents do not necessarily express the official position of the AES on the issues discussed at these meetings, and only represent the views of committee members participating in the discussion. Any unauthorized use of these publications is prohibited. Authorization must be obtained from the Executive Director of the AES: Email, Tel: +1 212 661 8528, Address: 551 Fifth Ave., Suite 1225, New York, New York 10176, USA.

2020-11-4     Minutes TC ARDL Meeting AES 149th Convention, Virtual New York
Description: Agenda and Minutes TC ARDL Meeting AES 149th Convention, Virtual New York

2019-3-22     Minutes TC ARDL Meeting AES 146th Convention, Dublin, Ireland
Description: Minutes TC ARDL Meeting AES 146th Convention, Dublin, Ireland

2018-10-18     Minutes TC ARDL Meeting AES 145th Convention, NY, USA
Description: Minutes

2016-2-17     Minutes TC ARDL Meeting 139th AES Convention New York, USA
Description: Meeting notes

2015-10-30     Minutes TC ARDL Meeting 138th AES Convention Warsaw, Poland
Description: Minutes TC ARDL Meeting 138th AES Convention Warsaw, Poland

2015-10-30     Minutes TC ARDL Meeting 137th AES Conventiom Los Angeles, USA
Description: Minutes TC ARDL Meeting 137th AES Conventiom Los Angeles, USA

2013-10-17     AES 135 TC ARDL Minutes 2013, New York, NY
Description: Minutes of 135th TC meeting

2013-10-17     AES 133 TC ARDL Minutes 2012, San Francisco, CA
Description: Fall 2012 Meeting Report

2008-10-5     AES 125 TC ARDL Minutes 2008, San Francisco, CA
Description: Meeting Minutes from the 125th AES - 2008, San Francisco, CA

2008-9-25     AES 121 TC ARDL Minutes 2007, NYC
Description: Meeting Minutes from the 121st AES - 2007, NYC

2006-3-2     AES 119 TC ARDL Minutes 2005, NYC
Description: chairman's minutes

2001-5-29     AES 110 TC ARDL Minutes 2001, Amsterdam
Description: chairman's minutes

2008-9-25     2007 Report on the State of Archiving, Restoration and Digital Libraries
Description: This document was originally drafted as part of the AES routine reporting effort from the Technical Committees, known as "EMERGING TECHNOLOGY TRENDS IN THE AREAS OF THE TECHNICAL COMMITTEES OF THE AUDIO ENGINEERING SOCIETY". These reports are collected by AES and published in the journal. Due to physical space limitations in the journal this original report was reduced to just one section in the November 2007 issue. Posted here is the report in full.

2001-7-27     unesco resolution
Description: TEXT of the draft UNESCO RESOLUTION on DIGITAL PRESERVATION Proposed by the Conference of Directors of National Libraries (CDNL) The Hague, June 2001

2000-11-30     mission.doc
Description: Mission statement for the TC on Archiving, Restoration and Digital Libraries.

To request membership in this Technical Committee please email the Chair by using the link above.