Further Suggestions and Acknowledgements

Just do it

It is vital to take the initiative and start a preservation program. This is true even if the program is not perfect and there are not enough resources to complete the work. This is how several of Canada's preservation programs began, and it seems to work. Waiting for the ideal solution will likely lead to the loss of some media. More importantly, it could result in the loss of the information stored on the media.

Develop partnerships

Develop partnerships with larger organizations that already have preservation programs. This will help in the establishment of good practices and may provide insight into some of the more technically difficult areas. Partners may also have resources, such as specialized equipment or knowledgeable experts, that may not be available to smaller institutions.

Generate revenue

Digital preservation may stretch an institution's financial resources. If the historically or artistically significant recordings are saleable, issuing some of the sound recordings commercially may be an option to generate additional revenue. Alternatively, significant recordings could be made accessible as MP3 files through the institution's website.

Acknowledgements

The advice in this document was developed after a meeting on Wednesday, June 13, 2007, with three of Canada's smaller archives — all of which had successfully developed preservation programs for electronic recording media. We thank the following individuals for their contributions:

• Gilles Lesage, Société Historique de Saint-Boniface, Manitoba
• Gordon Kidd and Chris Levy, Shambhala Archives, Nova Scotia
• Slavko Manojlovich, Associate University Librarian, Memorial University, Newfoundland and Labrador

We are also grateful for the help of colleagues from Library and Archives Canada.