Proper Care and Handling of Audio Visual Materials
Taking care when handling any collection item is one of the more effective, cost-efficient, and easily achieved preservation measures.
General
- Wash and thoroughly dry hands before handling A/V materials
- Store and handle materials in a clean environment
- Keep food and drink away
- Do not touch playing surface(s)
- Keep playback equipment clean and well maintained
- Allow materials from cool storage to acclimate to room temperature before playing back
Discs
- Handle grooved discs (78s, 45s, LPs, lacquer discs) by the edge and label areas only
- Handle optical discs (CDs, DVDs) by the edge and center hole only
Magnetic tape (Reel-to-Reel or Open Reel)
- Handle by the edge of the plastic or metal reel (the flanges) and center hub only
- Do not squeeze the flanges together, which will crush the tape pack in between
Magnetic tape (Cassettes, Audio and Video)
- Handle by the outer shell only
- Do not touch the spools
Cylinders
- Hold with middle and index fingers, open to a V shape, in the cylinder
- Do not touch the outer, grooved surface (the playing surface) of the cylinder
- Allow wax cylinders from cool storage to acclimate to room temperature before touching to avoid thermal shock
Proper Storage of Audio Visual Materials
Grooved discs and cylinders, optical discs, and magnetic tape are made of modern materials that may have inherent chemical instabilities. Good storage is especially critical to the preservation of these materials.
General
- Store all formats upright: discs and reels on edge; cassettes on long edge; cylinders standing on end
- Ensure shelving is sturdy enough to support the heft and weight concentration of these materials (e.g., grooved discs average 35+ pounds per shelf-foot; all formats concentrate weight on the centerline of a shelf, which can cause some shelving to collapse)
- Store grooved discs on shelves with sturdy, immovable dividers every 4-6 inches that support the entire face of the disc in its sleeve
- Do not store grooved discs of different diameters together
- Store 10" reels in boxes with supports for the hub so that the entire weight of the reel is not on the reel edge
- Store played tapes without rewinding; rewind just before playing
Environment
- For home collections, a cool (room temperature or below), relatively dry (about 35-40% relative humidity or RH), clean, and stable environment (avoid attics, basements, and other locations with high risk of leaks and environmental extremes)
- Minimal exposure to all kinds of light; no exposure to direct or intense light
- Minimal exposure to strong magnetic fields*
- Distance from radiators and vents
- Distance from sources of vibration
- For institutional collections with materials to be preserved for a minimum of 10 years (ANSI IT9.13, 1996): 65-70° F and 45-50% RH
- For institutional collections with materials having permanent value: 46-50° F and 30-40% RH; do not store magnetic tape below 46° F
*Demagnetization is unlikely to occur in most situations, but keep magnetic tape away from the magentic fields created by motors, transformers, loudspeakers, vacuum cleaners, and television sets.
Packaging and Storage Containers
- Grooved Discs: When possible, replace record sleeves with a high density polyethylene sleeve (e.g., DiscWasher V.R.P., Mobile Fidelity Original Master Sleeve, Nagaoka No. 102 Anti-Static Record Sleeve); the Nagaoka sleeves can fit inside paper sleeves when an original paper sleeve needs to be retained
- Open Reel Tape: Store tape on reels with unslotted hubs; reels with slotted hubs may be used as take-up reels
- Optical Discs: Jewel cases are acceptable; replacement cases should also secure the disc by the center hub
- Storage boxes should be made of acid- and lignin-free paper stock; avoid storage containers that retain static charge
The Northeast Document Conservation Center has put together very useful technical leaflets on storage enclosures for collection materials as well as a list for Conservation/Preservation Supplies and Equipment — Archival Supplies. See additional lists of preservation suppliers.
Maintaining Playback Equipment and Cleaning Audio Visual Materials
Cleaning Playback Machines
Follow the manufacturer's instructions for keeping playback machines clean and well maintained. Professionals knowledgable about audio visual playback machines and with the proper equipment should perform more thorough maintenance and cleaning.
Cleaning Audio Visual Materials
Sound cleaning procedures for audio visual materials is different for each format. Cleaning of magnetic tape and of cylinders is a delicate undertaking and should be carried out only by a preservation specialist in these activities and is not covered here.
For cleaning grooved and optical discs (i.e., acetate, lacquer, shellac, and vinyl records; CDs; DVDs), use canned air to blow away dust. See Cleaning Lacquer Discs 
(Northeast Document Conservation Center) if it is necessary to clean mold or waxy exudates on grooved discs.
Disclaimer:
The Library of Congress shares this information as a public service. The effectiveness of this cleaning solution has not been compared to commercial products and no guarantee is implied or intended that it will meet the needs of all users. Institutions or individuals who prepare or use the solution do so at their own risk. The Library of Congress will not be liable for any injury to any person, animal, or ecosystem, or for damage to any item resulting from the use of any of the materials, chemicals, or procedures described here.
References
The following references are freely available online and provide more detailed information on the care, handling, and storage of magnetic tape and of optical media in particular.
Byers, Fred R. Information Technology: Care and Handling of CDs and DVDs — A Guide for Librarians and Archivists. NIST Special Publication 500-252. National Institute of Standards and Technology and Council on Library and Information Resources, October 2003.
Dale, Robin et al. Audio Preservation: A Selective Annotated Bibliography and Brief Summary of Current Practices. Chicago: American Library Association, 1998.
Gibson, Gerald. Cylinder Audio Recordings: an Annotated Bibliography [PDF: 3 MB / 42 pp.], September 1996.
Roosa, Mark. Magnetic Media Preservation: Selected Bibliography, October 1990.
Roose, Mark. Recorded Sound Preservation: Selected Bibliography, October 1990.
Van Bogart, John W.C. Magnetic Tape Storage and Handling: A Guide for Libraries and Archives. National Media Laboratory, June 1995.
The Association of Moving Image Archivists. Videotape Preservation Fact Sheets.
Conservation OnLine. Audio Preservation.
Conservation OnLine. Electronic Storage Media.
Conservation OnLine. Video Preservation.
Image Permanence Institute. The Preservation of Magnetic Tape Collections: A Perspective. Final Report to the National Endowment for the Humanities Division of Preservation and Access. December 2006.
Library of Congress Preservation Directorate. Cylinder Recordings and the Library of Congress.
Lyrasis. Preservation Recording, Copying and Storage Guidelines for Audio Tape Collections.
National Park Service. Conserve O Gram 19/8: Preservation of Magnetic Media. July 1993.
Stanford University Libraries Preservation Department. Guidelines for Storing, Handling, and Marking Optical Media in SULAIR [Stanford University Library and Academic Information Resources] Collections.
Bibliography
General Works
Child, Margaret S. Directory of Information Sources on Scientific Research Related to the Preservation of Sound Recordings, Still and Moving Images, and Magnetic Tape. Washington, D.C.: Commission on Preservation and Access, 1993.
Gibson, Gerald D. "Preservation and conservation of sound recordings." In: Henderson, Kathryn Luther; Henderson, William T. Conserving and preserving materials in non-book formats. Urbana-Champaign, Illinois: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Graduate School of Library and Information Science, 1991. 27-44.
Pickett, A. G.; Lemcoe, M. M. Preservation and storage of sound recordings: A Study supported by a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation. Washington, D.C: Library of Congress, 1959.
Note: Bibliography; photographs; illustrations; diagrams. Reprint available from Association for Recorded Sound Collections; attn Elwood McKee; 118 Monroe St., Apt. 610; Rockville, MD 20850-2511. The basic document on the preservation and storage of all audio recordings before CDs reports on a study of preservation and storage of the more common sound recordings of the period. Conclusions include information and-or recommendations on storage environment, control of mold and fungus, furniture, and packaging.
Schüller, Dietrich. "Handling, storage, and preservation of sound recordings under tropical and subtropical climatic conditions." In: Fontes Artis Musicae, 1986 (33): 100-104.
Varcla, Allan. "Art of audio archiving in the '90s." Pro Sound News. 1994 (Mar 15).
Note: Presents the complications in archiving that have taken place with the advent of digital audio recording technology, most notably incompatibility of systems and/or media. Presents comments on analog tapes from John Matarazzo, manager of technical services for Sony, concerning binder breakdown, crystallizing or oxidizing of lubricants, and treatment resulting in temporary stability in order to make working copies; continues with uncertainty of how well digital tapes store and critical nature of temperature and humidity in storage, with information on metal evaporated tape, with some of advantages of optical recording technology, that Open Media Framework (OMF) is addressing problem of incompatibility and back up systems. "The requirements of OMF are that we continually keep it backwardly compatible so, as we extend the capabilities in the file format and the specification, we will continue to support the things that were in there originally. That means that you can never have an OMF file that you can't go back to and open and process with the capabilities that you have at that time."
Disc Recordings
American National Standards Institute. Optical disc media: Storage. New York LANSI, 1997 (ANSI/NAPM IT9.25-1997).
Berger, Myron. "Record Cleaners and the Real World." High Fidelity 3 (7): 43-46 (July 1980).
Bouley, Raymond J. "The Life and death of CD-ROM." CD-ROM Librarian: 146-151 (January 1992).
"Compact disc problems." Conservation Administration News 36: 20 (1989).
Note: Information on problems with compact disc in relation to deterioration caused by label ink, oxidation of aluminum, and storage conditions.
Day, Rebecca. "Where's the rot? A Special report on CD longevity." Stereo Review 54 (4): 23-24 (April 1989).
Fantel, Hans. "Pampered record can live to be 100." New York Times. 1976 Oct 10; D: 26-28.
Note: Reports on tests of LP record wear, and on cleaning devices and agents, measuring the increase of noise and distortion in successive plays of discs cleaned each time before playing. Concludes that such a disc almost as good after 200 plays as when new, but that a dirty, neglected disk may be badly damaged in less than twenty plays.
Fantel, Hans. "Keeping it clean : Solutions for record care." Opera news. 1977 Apr 2; 41: 38-39.
Note: Includes information on Zerostat, Staticmaster, Discwasher, Radio Shack's Hydro-Stor, Audio-Technica's AT610, Watts' Disc-Preener and Manual Parastat, Audio Technica AT6002, Vac-O-Rec, and Fidelipac's Spin & Clean Record Washer.
Foster, Edward J. "A Selected--and Selective--Bestiary of Disc-Care Accessories." High Fidelity 28 (2): 43-48 (February 1978).
Hyperion Records. Bronzing CD's: How to replace your corroded Hyperion CDs following the closure of the PDO [Philips & Du Pont Optical] Helpline in November 2006.
Lumley, Enid. "Record Cleaning Machines." IAR Hotline 23: 7-17 (July 1982).
Lumley, Enid. "Record Cleaning Fluids." IAR Hotline 23: 1-7 (July l982).
Maier, Bruce. "In Search of the Perfect Record Cleaner." High Fidelity 22 (9) 52-55 (September 1972).
Mastricola, Scott. "Record Wear." Stereo Review 36 (6): 56-60 (July 1976).
Pisha, B. V. "Record Cleaners Revisited." Audio 54 (5): 40-49 (May 1970).
Ranada, David. "How to Handle Records." Stereo Review 47 (9): 62-63 (September 1982).
Saffady, William. "Stability, care, and handling of microforms, magnetic media, and optical disks." Library Technology Reports. 1991 Feb; 27(1): 5-116.
Note: Bibliographic references. Reports on survey of currently available information about the stability, care, and handling of non-book media, including microforms, magnetic media, and optical disks. Organized according to media type, each including an introduction to the media and to its physical and application characteristics; description of recording technologies and technical processes; scientific information about stability; discussion of environmental and other factors which can affect the chemical behavior and physical properties of the media; and guidelines for care, handling and storage.
Woodcock, Roberick; Wielage, Marc. "Laser rot." Video. 1987 Apr : 49-52.
Note: Includes description of deterioration of signal on video discs and possible causes; gives partial list of some titles where problem has been found.
Tape Recordings
Ampex Corp. Guide to the care and handling of magnetic tape. Redwood City, CA: Ampex Recording Media Corp.
Note: Modified reprint included in VanBogart, John W. C.: Magnetic tape storage and handling : A Guide for libraries and archives (Washington, D.C., St. Paul, MN; Commission on Preservation and Access, National Media Lab, 1995)
Ampex Corp; Ostertag, John. Product Information: 467 R-DAT Digital Audio Tape: Competitive Performance Review [press release]. Redwood City, CA: Ampex Recording Media Corp.; [1994]. 3 p.
Note: Reviews the performance characteristics of the cited Ampex product; in doing so, includes the strongest statement yet from a manufacturer concerning use of R-DAT as an archival medium: "Ampex's position about archiving valuable source programming to R-DAT is simple. We do not recommend it." They, then, give three reasons why it is not advocated: retrievability of damaged analog vs. total loss of digital data; future access to recorders and lack of experience with media and systems; and doubtful interchangability of tape and machines.
Audio Engineering Society. AES Recommended practice for audio preservation and restoration: Storage of polyester-based magnetic tape. New York; AES. 1997 (AES22-1997).
DeLancie, Philip. "Sticky-shed syndrome: Tips on saving your damaged tape." In: Mix Magazine; 1990 May: 148-152.
Note: Describes the problems, the likely causes, and a proposed solution to the sticky-shed problem with magnetic tape.
Fox, Barry. "Master tapes come to sticky end." In: New Scientist; 1992 September 22; 127(1735): 15.
Note: Reports problem of deteriorating sound recording tape, result of which is that the tapes are very difficult to run and may, in serious cases, jam in the recorder. The cause is thought to be the deterioration of the polyurethane binder used to hold the magnetic material onto the tape base, probably caused by hydrolysis of the polyurethane brought about by atmospheric moisture adsorbed onto the tape surface. A method for temporarily reducing the problem so that copy recordings can be made is described.
Kent, Scott. Binder breakdown in back-coated tapes. Recording Engineer Producer 19 (7): 80-81 (July 1988).
The preservation procedures described here have been used by the Library of Congress in the care of its collections and are considered suitable by the Library as described; however, the Library will not be responsible for damage to your collection should damage result from the use of these procedures.
