ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces the basic preservation concepts and refers the online resources that frequently update with more specific information. Preservation refers to the long-term care and protection of the content in archives. Preservation of oral histories is multi-faceted, involving strategies for preserving the storage media, the content, and the intended meaning within a context. Physical media that carry the content include paper, discs, cassettes, wire cylinders, MiniDiscs, vinyl discs, and any number of unusual objects. Paper as a preservation medium gets short shrift in the digital age, but there is a great deal to be said in its favor. Here is what Pauline Sinclair says about it in the Executive Summary to 'The Digital Divide': Historically, information was recorded on paper, parchment, and papyrus. Magnetic tape is a recording and storage medium for sound and moving images, found most commonly in audio- and videocassettes.
