Search

Copyright of MESO is the property of Zadruzna Stampa D.D. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Audiovisual (A/V) materials in archival collections require unique consideration during archival processing. Historically, A/V materials have often been underdescribed, or relegated to a "Multimedia" series at the end of a finding aid with little detail related to format, condition, or content. This article examines past approaches to processing audiovisual materials in archival collections through a review of the literature, open-source tools, and local processing manuals. This study includes two case studies, a high-level, department-wide survey and a large-scale, item-level inventory, and demonstrates the value of gaining intellectual control of A/V materials in the archives. The article argues that many legacy finding aids, including those created with a "minimal processing" approach, are often not detailed enough for the accurate, holistic evaluation necessary when planning for A/V preservation and digitization projects. The article concludes by describing the positive outcomes of reevaluating legacy finding aids and conducting an item-level accounting of A/V holdings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]