Mission

Working hand-in-hand with special collections and Avery Fisher Center for Music and Media staff of NYU Libraries, the Barbara Goldsmith Preservation and Conservation Department Media Preservation Unit strives to extend the usable life of the Library's film, video and audio collections through preventive and remedial treatments, training, research, and select preservation reformatting.

Services

The Media Preservation Unit is headed by a Moving Image Preservation Specialist and staffed with a Moving Image Archiving and Preservation Research Fellow and trained graduate students.

Services include:

• • Comprehensive inspection to determine condition and to document physical characteristics such as format, age and type of material.
• • Testing and evaluation of deterioration and damage.
• • Conservation treatments such as basic cleaning and repair.
• • Improvement of the micro-environment through re-housing.
• • Provision of temporary storage for high-risk media.

• • Assistance to staff with the development of preservation and access plans, including the identification of vendors, outsourcing work orders and quotes, shipping and tracking of materials, and quality control.
• • Inspection for quality control purposes of preservation masters and access copies.

• • Provision of facilities for identification of film, video, and audio materials by Library staff.
• • Promotion of proper handling, documentation, and storage of media through training and education.
• • Collaboration with the graduate Moving Image Archiving and Preservation Program in the Cinema Studies Department of the Tisch School of the Arts for training of new professionals.
• • Consultation and services in preservation planning and funding.

• • Research into methodologies for surveying, inspecting and reformatting of audio/visual materials.

• • Creation of video preservation masters and high quality access copies from 3/4" Umatic & UmaticSP, VHS & S-VHS, Betacam, BetacamSP, DVCAM and Mini-DV sources.
• • Creation of audio preservation masters and high quality access copies from 1/4" open reel, cassette, CD, and DAT sources.

Staff

Kimberly Tarr

tel. 212-998-2692

kst237@nyu.edu

Ben Moskowitz

tel. 212-998-2551

ben.moskowitz@nyu.edu