Appraisal of Audio and Moving Image Materials

The inventory and preservation work associated with audio and moving image materials is time-consuming and costly, so the first step when working with a collection that includes audio and moving image materials is to determine what media from the collection will be retained. The initial appraisal of a collection’s audio and moving image items should occur during your survey, and be explained in your processing proposal. However it is usually not possible to closely examine each original media item before you begin processing the collection, so appraisal will continue as you identify, assess, and describe the audio and moving image materials.

The importance of each original media item will depend on its uniqueness, research value, and relationship to the creator’s activities. In some instances, media will arrive with an inventory, or will have already been inventoried by Collection Management or Audio and Moving Image Description staff. In these cases, you should not forego appraisal. Review any existing donor or creator inventories to determine if it is accurate and might be useful in identifying and describing the media. Sometimes an inventory may also be helpful to include as an additional resource to the finding aid for researchers.

Your processing proposal should explain how you plan to arrange and describe the collection’s audio and moving image content, determine how commercial media will be managed, and define the types of items that should be discarded or transferred. For some collections, the curatorial division may want the commercial material and/or other separated items returned to them. Having a clear plan in place prior to your inventory will assure that you do not spend significant time considering each item once you begin your inventory, and will enable you to make informed appraisal decisions.