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The conservation and restoration of vinyl discs refers to the preventive measures taken to defend against damage and slow degradation, and to maintain
fidelity Fidelity is the quality of faithfulness or loyalty. Its original meaning regarded duty in a broader sense than the related concept of ''fealty''. Both derive from the Latin word ''fidēlis'', meaning "faithful or loyal". In the City of London fin ...
of singles, 12" singles, EP’s, and LP’s in 45 or 33⅓ rpm 10” disc recordings. Vinyl LP preservation is generally considered separate from conservation, which refers to the repair and stabilization of individual discs. Commonly practiced in major sound archives and research
libraries A library is a collection of Document, materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or electronic media, digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a ...
that house large collections of
audio Audio most commonly refers to sound, as it is transmitted in signal form. It may also refer to: Sound * Audio signal, an electrical representation of sound *Audio frequency, a frequency in the audio spectrum * Digital audio, representation of sou ...
recordings, it is also frequently followed by
audiophiles An audiophile is a person who is enthusiastic about high-fidelity sound reproduction. An audiophile seeks to reproduce the sound of a piece of recorded music or a live musical performance, typically inside closed headphones, In-ear monitors, open ...
and home record collectors. Because
vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl ...
—a virtually unbreakable light plastic made up of polyvinyl chloride acetate copolymer, or PVC—is considered the most stable of analog recording media, it is seen as less a concern for deterioration than earlier sound recordings made from more fragile materials such as acetate, vulcanite, or
shellac Shellac () is a resin secreted by the female lac bug on trees in the forests of India and Thailand. It is processed and sold as dry flakes and dissolved in alcohol to make liquid shellac, which is used as a brush-on colorant, food glaze and ...
. This hardly means that vinyl recordings are infallible, however, and research—both expert and evidential—has shown that the way in which discs are handled and cared for can have a profound effect on their longevity. Though some 45s (7”s) are also made from vinyl, many of them are actually polystyrene—a more fragile medium that is prone to fracturing from internal stress. Still, many of the recommendations for the care of vinyl LPs can be applied to 45s.


Historical development and standards

In 1959—roughly a decade after
vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl ...
LPs first became widely available to
consumer A consumer is a person or a group who intends to order, or uses purchased goods, products, or services primarily for personal, social, family, household and similar needs, who is not directly related to entrepreneurial or business activities. ...
s—the
Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library ...
publishe
''Preservation of Sound Recordings'' (A.G. Pickett and M.M. Lemcoe)
the first and most extensive investigation of the deterioration of grooved discs and magnetic tape. Funded by a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation, the purpose of the investigation was to establish suitable guidelines for the storage and preservation of
sound recordings Sound recording and reproduction is the electrical, mechanical, electronic, or digital inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording t ...
for libraries. Conducted at the Southwest Research Institute of San Antonio, the study involved subjecting sound recordings to a series of lab tests, from accelerated aging to fungal exposure. Though considered the definitive study in the field, the chemical makeup of plastics and how they perform under stress was the primary focus of the report, whereas playback deterioration—a significant concern to sound archivists and record collectors—was excluded from the investigation. ''The Preservation and Restoration of Sound Recordings'' (Jerry McWilliams), published in 1979 by the American Association of State and Local History, did include information about disc wear through playback, and is still a practical source of information on sound recording preservation. A comprehensive manual based on reports gathered from library professionals, sound archivists, audio engineers, and other experts, it included information on such topics as disc damage from frequency of use, stylus wear, and inferior or improperly adjusted equipment. In 1986 the Association of Recorded Sound Collections (ARSC) Associated Archives (AAA) Committee received a grant from the
National Endowment for the Humanities The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency of the U.S. government, established by thNational Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965(), dedicated to supporting research, education, preserv ...
to conduct an in-depth study in order to identify the problems of preservation and access for sound recordings. Their 860-page report, titled ''Audio Preservation, A Planning Study'' was published in 1988. Since the shift from
analog Analog or analogue may refer to: Computing and electronics * Analog signal, in which information is encoded in a continuous variable ** Analog device, an apparatus that operates on analog signals *** Analog electronics, circuits which use analog ...
to
digital recording In digital recording, an audio or video signal is converted into a stream of discrete numbers representing the changes over time in air pressure for audio, or chroma and luminance values for video. This number stream is saved to a storag ...
, research in the preservation of sound recordings has been in serious decline. Gerald L. Gibson, the head of the Motion Picture, Broadcasting, and Recorded Sound Division of the
Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library ...
expressed his concern on this issue in 1991, by referencing an investigation on the effects of fire on sound and audiovisual recordings as some of the only new research being done on the topic, stating, “Comparatively little is known about the preservation, conservation, aging problems, or properties of sound recordings…virtually no independent work is going on in these areas.” (Gerald L. Gibson, Head of the Motion Picture, Broadcasting, and Recorded Sound Division of the Library of Congress, 1991). Though guidelines and recommendations for the care, handling, and proper storage of vinyl LPs are available from such resources as The Library of Congress and the National Library of Canada, to this date there are no nationally agreed upon standards for audio preservation.Association of Research Libraries
Letter to National Recording Preservation Board
, Library of Congress
In January 2007, a five-page letter was sent to the National Recording Preservation Board at the Library of Congress on behalf of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) in support of a study on the current state of recorded sound preservation in the United States, stating “the lack of agreed upon standards and commonly accepted best practices presents a major barrier to effective audio preservation.”(Prudence S. Adler, Associate Executive Director and Karla L. Hahn, Director, Office of Scholarly Communication, Association of Research Libraries, Jan. 2007)


Recommendations

Though recommendations for LP preservation differ among professionals, the majority are in agreement on some basic
guidelines A guideline is a statement by which to determine a course of action. A guideline aims to streamline particular processes according to a set routine or sound practice. Guidelines may be issued by and used by any organization (governmental or pri ...
: discs need to be kept clean, stored in such a way to prevent distortion, and maintained in a stable, climate-controlled environment. Routine
maintenance Maintenance may refer to: Biological science * Maintenance of an organism * Maintenance respiration Non-technical maintenance * Alimony, also called ''maintenance'' in British English * Champerty and maintenance, two related legal doct ...
of
turntable A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...
equipment including regular inspection of the weight, tracking, and condition of the stylus is also advised.


Cleaning

Though proper methods are debated,
cleaning Cleaning is the process of removing unwanted substances, such as dirt, infectious agents, and other impurities, from an object or environment. Cleaning is often performed for aesthetic, hygienic, functional, environmental, or safety purposes ...
is extremely important in maintaining the
fidelity Fidelity is the quality of faithfulness or loyalty. Its original meaning regarded duty in a broader sense than the related concept of ''fealty''. Both derive from the Latin word ''fidēlis'', meaning "faithful or loyal". In the City of London fin ...
of LPs. As Gibson stated, “As with most things in the field, there is very little certainty regarding cleaning. What is known is based on trial-and-error, not upon controlled, scientific study…however, one thing is certain: playing a dirty recording, regardless of its format, is one of the most damaging things you can do to it.”(Gerald L. Gibson, Head of the Motion Picture, Broadcasting, and Recorded Sound Division of the Library of Congress, 1991)Gibson, Gerald D. “Preservation and Conservation of Sound Recordings,” page 32 in ''Conserving and Preserving Materials in Nonbook Formats''. Henderson, Kathryn L. and William T., editors. Urbana-Champaign, Ill.: University of Illinois, Graduate School of Library and Information Science, 1991. It is imperative that LPs be kept free from foreign matter deposits.
Oils An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturate ...
from fingerprints, adhesives, and soot are damaging, as are air
pollutants A pollutant or novel entity is a substance or energy introduced into the environment that has undesired effects, or adversely affects the usefulness of a resource. These can be both naturally forming (i.e. minerals or extracted compounds like o ...
like cigarette smoke. Even grease from cooking can deposit itself on LPs. Probably the number one contributor to damage, however, is ordinary household
dust Dust is made of fine particles of solid matter. On Earth, it generally consists of particles in the atmosphere that come from various sources such as soil lifted by wind (an aeolian process), volcanic eruptions, and pollution. Dust in ho ...
. Dust can become embedded permanently into the disc's grooves, causing distortion of the transmitting signal, ticks, pops, and inferior sound quality. Vinyl discs can become so dirty and scratched that they are virtually unlistenable. It is recommended that discs be cleaned before—and after—each playback, carbon-fibre brushes are quite effective. Records should be cleaned in a circular motion, in the direction of the grooves.
Distilled water Distilled water is water that has been boiled into vapor and condensed back into liquid in a separate container. Impurities in the original water that do not boil below or near the boiling point of water remain in the original container. Thus, di ...
(not tap water as it will leave behind mineral deposits) and a soft, lint-free cloth are a common method of cleaning. Another method is to clean the LP on the turntable with a disc cleaning brush (the Discwasher system is frequently recommended by the audio press). A simple "cleaning bath" device called the Spin Clean gives good results, and there are also vacuum machines on the market such as the Nitty Gritty, Keith Monks, Clearaudio, and VPI, which are recommended for more a thorough cleaning. In recent years, ultrasonic cleaning machines from manufacturers such as Klaudio (Korea) and Audio Desk Systeme (Germany) have also been used with great success. The effectiveness of the ultrasonic machines coupled with their premium price tags (both $4,000 US in January 2015) has opened the door for companies to offer professional ultrasonic cleaning at an affordable cost of just a few dollars per record. Another cleaning product recently released called Record Revirginizer uses a polymer that is applied to record surface then left to dry; the polymer is then peeled from the surface taking the microscopic contaminants with it. Though in the past, using alcohol on vinyl LPs was considered safe, experts now caution against it unless absolutely necessary, as alcohol threatens the loss of the plasticizer or stabilizer. As vinyl is often prone to electrostatic charges that cause dust and debris to be attracted to its surface, anti-static products can be used if needed. Other recommendations for the care, handling, and storage of LPs include the following:


Handling

* When possible, use clean, white, lint-free gloves for handling. * Handle by edge and label areas only, with the third and fourth fingers balancing the label and the thumb supporting the rim. * Remove from jacket by bowing the jacket open and holding it against the body and letting the LP with its inner sleeve slide out gently (following the same method for removing the inner sleeve). * Do not expose to air or light unnecessarily. Return LPs to their jackets immediately after playback.


Storing

* Store exactly vertically to prevent warping. Spacers are recommended for every four to six inches. * Store LPs with other LPs. Avoid mixing with other sizes such as 10″ and 7″ discs. Never use bookends. * Store on metal shelves (as opposed to wood, which expands and contracts). * Do not allow LPs to hang over the edge of shelves. * Remove shrink wrap from dust jackets immediately after acquiring. * Use polyethylene inner sleeves. Never use PVC sleeves as their chemical makeup is too close to vinyl and may cause imprints or fuse to the LP. Replace paper sleeves as paper deteriorates, leaving oil and paper residue. * Store in-use LPs at a temperature of . Those in long-term storage should be kept at . Though
relative humidity Humidity is the concentration of water vapor present in the air. Water vapor, the gaseous state of water, is generally invisible to the human eye. Humidity indicates the likelihood for precipitation, dew, or fog to be present. Humidity dep ...
(RH) is considered less an issue for vinyl than other recorded media, it is recommended that LPs be stored at 45 to 50% RH.


Playback equipment

* The stylus tip should be kept clean at all times. A soft, camelhair brush is recommended with a drop of Discwasher solution. Only clean from back to front. * The stylus should be periodically inspected as it is gradually worn by use. Never play LPs with a worn stylus. * Maintain proper tracking force. If too high, the stylus will bear down on the groove walls of the LP; if too low, the stylus will bounce in the groove.


Reformatting

As vinyl recordings are known to degrade after repeated playback, preservation copying is recommended for archival purposes. This is especially true for rare recordings or those that have special value. A general guideline is to digitise the recording using the appropriate stylus, tracking weight, equalisation curve and other playback parameters and use high-quality analogue-to-digital converters.''Guidelines on the Production and Preservation of Digital Audio Objects'' (IASA TC04)
International Association of Sound and Audiovisual Archives 2009.
A service copy of the recording can then be created (on CD or other format) from the preservation master. A second option is to create three copies, the second copy acting as a duplicating master and the third for public use.


See also

*
Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project The Cylinder Audio Archive is a free digital collection maintained by the University of California, Santa Barbara Library with streaming and downloadable versions of over 10,000 phonograph cylinders manufactured between 1893 and the mid-1920s. The ...
*
Gramophone record A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English), or simply a record, is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The groove usually starts ne ...
* LP album *
National Recording Preservation Board The United States National Recording Preservation Board selects recorded sounds for preservation in the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry. The National Recording Registry was initiated to maintain and preserve "sound recordings that ...
* Phonograph *
Preservation (library and archival science) In library and archival science, preservation is a set of preventive conservation activities aimed at prolonging the life of a record, book, or object while making as few changes as possible. Preservation activities vary widely and may include m ...
*
Sound recording and reproduction Sound recording and reproduction is the electrical, mechanical, electronic, or digital inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording ...
* Laser turntable


References


External links


Association for Recorded Sound Collections (ARSC)

International Association of Sound and Audiovisual Archives (IASA)


Updated version; original: St.-Laurent, Gilles. "Preservation of Recorded Sound Materials." ARSC Journal 23, no. 2 (December 1991): 425-436.
Association of Research Libraries: Pictorial Guide to Sound Recording Media


* ttps://www.loc.gov/preserv/care/record.html Cylinder, Disc, and Tape Care in A Nutshell, Library of Congress
Audio Archiving, Current Issues and Selected Readings, Syracuse University Library
{{Cultural Conservation-Restoration , state=expanded Audio storage Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage Record collecting