Complex formats such as audiovisual materials, digital artworks, and other new media are increasingly collected by libraries of all types, not simply special archives. Alternative formats present a variety of challenges for catalogers, policymakers, and preservationists. In this session, panelists will share their experience providing access to three alternative formats: audiovisual materials, digital art, and multi-media projects. They will also present good practices for preserving these complicated — but important and increasingly common — materials. Contemporary artists’ recordworks provide opportunities for librarians to work solo or collaborate with music librarians and educators to collect a unique genre of artists’ books. Susan Thomas will describe recordworks — analog objects that combine audio recordings like vinyl records, cassettes, or CDs with printed matter — and discuss how they reflect the enduring popularity of analog media among creatives. Carmen Cowick will offer advice on how to preserve digital art by discussing the various approaches to preservation undertaken by different institutions and art professionals. She will also share resources describing best practices for digital art and resources for continuing education programs for art librarians/museum professionals. Quality Control Tools for Video Preservation was a two-year NEH-funded project organized through the Bay Area Video Coalition (BAVC) in partnership with independent consultants. Kristin MacDonough will present and demonstrate the resulting projects, the open source software (QCTools), and the development of the online resource (AudioVisual Artifact Atlas). / Presentations: 1. Contemporary Artists' Recordworks in Academic Libraries — Susan Thomas, Coordinator of Reference Services, Assistant Professor, Long Island University 2. Preserving Digital Art: The Challenges that Digital Art Presents to the Traditional Art World — Carmen Cowick, Preservation Librarian, Amigos Library Services 3. Quality Control Tools: Resources for Managing and Reformatting Audiovisual Materials — Kristin MacDonough, Coordinator for the AudioVisual Artifact Atlas, Technology and Preservation, Bay Area Video Coalition / This session is sponsored by Amigos Library Services.

Related Event: ARLISNA 2015 Fort Worth Conference