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Program National Recording Preservation Board

About the Board

The National Recording Preservation Board, mandated by the National Recording Preservation Act of 2000, is an advisory group bringing together a number of professional organizations and expert individuals concerned with the preservation of recorded sound. The Board is one of three components established by the legislation to form a comprehensive national program to ensure the survival, conservation, and increased public availability of America's sound recording heritage. The other two components of the program are the National Recording Registry and a fund-raising Foundation.

The Board is appointed by the Librarian of Congress and consists of one member and one alternate from each of seventeen organizations representing composers, musicians, musicologists, librarians, archivists, and the recording industry, as named in the law. In addition, the Librarian of Congress may appoint up to five "at-large" members.

Activities of the Board

Objectives

The National Recording Preservation Act of 2000 charges its Board to:

  • Formulate Selection Criteria for the Recording Registry and to assist the Librarian in the review and recommendation of nominations for the Registry
  • Develop a comprehensive National Recording Preservation Study and Action Plan. A comparable preservation study and action plan was produced in 1993 by the National Film Preservation Board. The study addressed issues such as the current state of sound recording archiving, preservation, and restoration activities; research and other activities carried out by or on behalf of the Library of Congress National Audio-Visual Conservation Center at Culpeper, Virginia; the establishment of clear standards for copying old sound recordings; current laws and restrictions regarding the preservation and use of sound recordings, including recommendations for changes to allow digital access and preservation.
  • In 2012, the Board published the Library of Congress National Recording Preservation Plan.  It addresses the above has been devised to serve as a blueprint to “implement a comprehensive national sound recording preservation program,” as mandated in the National Recording Preservation Act of 2000. Congress specified that the program established by the Librarian of Congress under this legislation “shall … increase accessibility of sound recordings for educational purposes.”

Board Members

Oral histories conducted with board members of the National Recording Preservation Board