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Program National Recording Preservation Plan

About This Program

Preservation

A technician at the Packard Campus works at reformatting a vintage vinyl disc, one of the Library’s many preservation initiatives.

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CDs and Other Formats

Billy Joel’s 1978 album “52nd Street” has the distinction of being one of the first CD’s ever released. Learn about formats.

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The Packard Campus

The Packard Campus for Audio-Visual Conservation is home to the Recorded Sound Division of the Library of Congress. It is located in Culpeper, Virginia.

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Thomas A. Edison

Edison is the father of recorded sound. His recitation of “Mary Had a Little Lamb” in 1877 is recognized as the first sound recording created and successfully played back.

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Vintage Equipment Manuals

JBL’s 4311B audio speaker was marketed in the 1970s. The operating manual for it and other vintage equipment can be found here.

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Audio Equipment

Cary Audio Tube Amplifier with 300B audio tubes, ca. late 1970s.

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The National Recording Preservation Plan has been devised to provide a blueprint to "implement a comprehensive national sound recording preservation program," as mandated in the National Recording Preservation Act of 2000.

The congressionally mandated plan spells out 32 short- and long-term recommendations involving both the public and private sectors and covering infrastructure, preservation, access, education and policy strategies.

This website has been created to implement Recommendation 1.6 of the plan, which calls for "a collaborative online resource to collect, vet, and disseminate knowledge and best practices in the field of recorded sound preservation."

Read more about the National Recorded Sound Preservation Study and Plan

Featured Recordings

  • This disc was prepared in 1977 to introduce aurally our planet to any alien intelligence that might encounter the Voyager spacecraft many millions of years in the future. It contains encoded photographs, spoken messages, music and sounds as well as greetings delivered in 55 languages. It was added to the National Recording Registry in 2007.
  • This early orchestral broadcast originated in London on March 14, 1925 crossed the Atlantic where it was picked up by an RCA transmitter in Maine, and then relayed to stations WJZ in New York and WRC in Washington, DC, the first time the world had been so link by radio airwaves and sound. It was added to the National Recording Registry in 2007.
  • These words, spoken by Neil Armstrong on July 21, 1969, were the first broadcast from the moon. They have become some of the most recognizable and memorable sentences spoken in United States history. This recording was added to the National Recording Registry in 2004.