Audio 
1. GENERAL INFORMATION 
DURATION: HOURS/MINUTES/SECONDS/FRAMES. Often this information will be listed on the record report. 
AUDIO CHANNELS
•	Mono
•	Stereo
•	Mute
•	Other (please specify)
DIGITAL AUDIO SPECIFICATION
•	Sampling Bit Rate
•	Frequency in Hertz
•	OTHER (PLEASE SPECIFY):
•	 
ARTWORK CHANNEL INFORMATION: For example for a multi-channel work please state which channel this component relates to e.g. 1/3 etc

2. COMPONENT INFORMATION
2a. COMPONENT STATUS
State whether the component is:
•	Artist or Gallery supplied master
•	Archival master produced by own institution or collection
•	Exhibition format material supplied by the artist or gallery to be used as a reference
•	Exhibition format 
•	Reference or viewing copy
•	Other: Please specify

2b. FORMATS & RELATED INFORMATION :
AUTHORING DETAILS
•	Number of tracks
•	Use of fades
COMMON AUDIO TAPE FORMATS: 
For a guide to audio tape formats see http://www.vidipax.com/audiogd/index2.html
•	Philips Cassette
•	Reel to reel (state speed)
•	Mini cassette
•	¼ “ magnetic 
•	4 track
•	8 track
•	DAT
•	Other (please specify)
COMMON AUDIO DISC FORMATS 
For a guide to audio tape formats see http://www.vidipax.com/audiogd/index2.html
•	Audio CD
•	Mini-disk (ATRAC recording)
•	Mini-disk (Linear PCM recording)
•	Other (please specify)

 

COMMON AUDIO FILE FORMATS
For a guide to audio file formats see http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/pronom/
Please ensure that you provide the version information where possible. 
•	 .wav
•	.aiff or .aif (Audio interchange format)
•	.ogg (Vorbis encoded audio in the OGG container)
•	.wma (windows media audio)
•	other (Please specify) 

FORMAT THE FILE IS STORED ON
•	Data DVD
•	CD-ROM
•	External hard drive
•	Data tape format – e.g. LTO

2c. PRODUCTION HISTORY: State what the component was made from. If it was made from a component that you hold please state its component number, if it was made from a component made by the artist or gallery please give details of the production of the work and what this component was made from.  
DATE THE COMPONENTS WERE MADE:
WHERE MADE:
Provide details when known of:
•	The facilities house used:
•	The engineer:
•	Who supervised it from your institution:
•	The equipment (including software if relevant) used to make it:

NOTES: This is useful for any specific notes about a component for example whether it has French sub-titles or time-code is critical for synchronisation etc. 

2d. CONDITION ASSESSMENT 
AGE OF COMPONENT: No of years
OVERALL CONDITION ASSESSMENT:
•	Poor
•	Good
•	Excellent 
•	Notes: 
CONDITION OF TAPE COMPONENTS
CONDITION OF CARRIER:
•	Winding 
•	Damaged
•	Mould
PLAYBACK:
•	Trouble-free playback 
•	Problems with playback – reference time-code where possible
•	Pops
•	Noise
•	problems with levels

CONDITION OF DISC COMPONENTS 
Condition of the carrier
•	Scratched
•	Finger prints
•	Warping
•	Delamination

Playback
•	Trouble-free playback?
•	Problems with playback – reference time-code where possible
o	Problems with encoding
o	Audible anomalies – pops, hiss etc
o	Freezing
o	Other (please specify)

CONDITION OF AUDIO FILES 
Playback
•	Trouble free playback?
•	Problems with playback – reference time-code where possible
o	Software/ software version not available for playback
o	Problems with encoding
o	Audible anomalies
o	Freezing
o	…………

3. ASSESSMENT OF RISKS
RISK ASSESSMENT FOR TAPE FORMATS:
The world of audio is more stable than for video however many of the same concerns arise. For a range of resources linked to audio preservation please go to the following link.  
http://palimpsest.stanford.edu/bytopic/audio/

RISK ASSESSMENT FOR DISC FORMATS
In assessing the risk associated with obsolescence it is important to consider whether there is anything about the disc format which is essential to the identity of the work or whether the display format can be changed without loss. 
For more information about the care and handling of disc formats please see ‘Care and Handling of CDs and DVDs: A Guide for Librarians and Archivists’ by Fred R. Byers http://www.clir.org/pubs/reports/pub121/contents.html
RISK ASSESSMENT FOR AUDIO FILE FORMATS
This is a link to the PRONOM project which helps to identify file formats and also whether they are still supported. There are also a number of other links from this site to tools which will help you identify and assess the risk of obsolescence of a file format. 
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/PRONOM/BasicSearch/proBasicSearch.aspx?status=new