Developing the missing tools and workflows for preserving digital audio tape (DAT) [this project seeks to address the lack of accessible tools and preservation workflows for accurately transferring…

The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), through its Division of Preservation and Access program (CFDA 45.149), awarded a $349,009 Project Grant to the Northeast Document Conservation Center, Inc. (NEDCC) to develop tools and workflows for preserving digital audio tape (DAT) collections. The project aims to address the lack of accessible preservation solutions for accurately transferring audio and metadata from the at-risk DAT format, which is likely to contain unique content. The key objectives are to update open-source DAT transfer applications, develop strategies for transferring data from DAT players and DDS drives, build robust metadata standards for DATs, and provide preservation guidance to managers of DAT collections. This 2-year project, running from March 2024 to February 2026, will help ensure the long-term accessibility of content stored on this obsolete format.

Developing the missing tools and workflows for preserving digital audio tape (DAT) [this project seeks to address the lack of accessible tools and preservation workflows for accurately transferring audio and metadata from DAT tapes. DAT tapes are at a much higher risk than many older audio formats, and are very likely to contain unique content. The goal of this project is to make the transfer of audio data from DAT tape as straightforward and verifiable as IT would be to transfer a broadcast wave file from a modern audio recorder. We plan to meet these objectives by updating long-abandoned open-source DAT transfer applications to work with modern computers, developing multiple strategies for transferring data with DAT players and DDS drives (a technology that facilitates direct data transfer), building more robust metadata standards that account for the unique properties of dats, and facilitating an outreach program to give managers of DAT collections accessible, easy-to-follow guidance to save unique audio hidden on this obsolete format.]