Today marks the 18th annual celebration of the World Day for Audiovisual Heritage, established by UNESCO to raise awareness of the vulnerability of unique and irreplaceable audiovisual media and highlight the ongoing efforts of the preservation professionals and institutions that safeguard these media, ensuring that their content remains accessible far into the future.
One of the easiest and most effective ways to protect an AV object from damage and deterioration is to store it in an optimal container. The AV enclosures we use today have evolved (considerably!) over time, but their fundamental purpose has remained the same:
- protect the media inside from environmental and physical damage, and
- maintain the media’s correct orientation in storage.
The ideal AV enclosure is:
- made of durable, impact-resistant, chemically inert materials, and
- provides adequate protection from environmental factors such as dirt, mold, moisture, temperature extremes, and light, as well as preventing scratches, tears, warping, and other physical damage that could cause loss of recorded content.
While the basic requirements of a good AV enclosure seem simple, we know that choosing the best enclosure from among the wide variety of available options can be daunting. For further information or advice on AV enclosure selection, please reach out to HL Preservation Services staff, who will be happy to arrange a consultation at any time. We look forward to talking with you!
