Open Data Architecture for Digital Audio Content
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) has unveiled its Digital Audio Preservation Plan, a strategic framework aimed at ensuring the long-term preservation and accessibility of digital audio holdings. This plan forms part of NARA's broader audiovisual collection strategy.
While the precise details of the plan's scope and technical implementation are not fully outlined in the provided search results, NARA's approach to audiovisual preservation focuses on prioritizing digital files and media formats to guide archival preservation efforts.
Common preservation formats for digital audio in archival institutions like NARA often include WAV (uncompressed audio), AIFF, and various compressed formats that meet preservation standards. The goal is to maintain file integrity, ensure accessibility over time, and guard against obsolescence.
In terms of specific file formats covered in NARA holdings, the plan likely includes standard archival preservation formats, though exact formats are not specified in the current sources. For precise technical details on formats covered, official NARA guidance documents or direct NARA archival technical specifications would be the best reference.
Some of the digital audio file formats identified in the NARA collections include Adaptive Multi Rate Audio (AMR) with the file extension .amr, Advanced Audio Coding (AAC) in various formats such as AAC MPEG-2 Audio (.aac), AAC MPEG-4 Low Complexity Object (.m4a and .mp4), and AAC with MPEG-4, V.2 (.aac).
Additionally, the plan covers the Audio Interchange File Format (AIFF) with file extensions .aiff and .aif, the Advanced Systems Format (.asf), and project files from Adobe After Effects in both XML (.aepx) and binary (.aep) formats.
Each of these listed file formats has a corresponding Linked Open Data TTL available at the provided URLs.
It's important to note that the Digital Audio Preservation Plan is not exhaustive or universally applicable proposed actions and recommended or endorsed tools by NARA. The search did not return specific lists of file formats included in the Digital Audio Preservation Plan, indicating that such details might reside in specialized internal or technical NARA documentation not publicly summarized here.
In conclusion, the Digital Audio Preservation Plan at NARA is a comprehensive strategy aimed at ensuring the long-term preservation and accessibility of digital audio within its collections. While the exact formats covered may not be fully detailed in the provided search results, NARA's approach emphasizes prioritizing digital files and using appropriate methods for their preservation. For the most accurate and detailed information, it's recommended to refer to official NARA guidance documents or direct NARA archival technical specifications.
Technology plays a crucial role in the implementation of NARA's Digital Audio Preservation Plan, particularly in the use of cloud computing and data-and-cloud-computing solutions for storing and preserving digital audio files. The plan also covers a variety of file formats, including AMR, AAC, AIFF, ASF, and Adobe After Effects project files.
