The University of Illinois Library Launches Audiovisual Self-Assessment Program
The University Library releases the Audiovisual Self-Assessment Program (AvSAP) on August 12, 2010. AvSAP is now a fully realized project that began in May 2007. This assessment tool is funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Sciences, and is designed to address the needs of cultural heritage institutions by helping to preserve and maintain the functionality of their audiovisual materials.
AvSAP is free and accessible to the public, providing a series of questions designed to collect data about collections and assess the conditions of audiovisual items. Users may download AvSAP and host it on their own SQL server, or access it on the web. The goal of this assessment tool is to help collections managers develop a prioritized preservation plan for their audiovisual materials, including, but not limited to audio recordings, films, and videotapes, and to educate individuals on extending the lives of their collections with the resources at hand.
The outcome of using AvSAP includes a refined knowledge about developing an audiovisual preservation plan. This tool ranks audiovisual items in order of treatment need, providing users with a sense of what items need the most immediate care; AvSAP ultimately allows faculty and staff members to make more effective preservation decisions with regard to their audiovisual materials.
About the developers of AvSAP: The University of Illinois Library partnered with WILL AM-FM-TV, the Spurlock Museum, University departments such as the Department of Dance, the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, and the Illinois Heritage Association. This amalgamation of groups served as test-beds and advisors for the AvSAP project. In conjunction, the Institute of Museum and Library Sciences (IMLS) supports this project with a generous National Leadership Grant.
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For more information on the Audio-Visual Self Assessment Program visit the AvSAP website at:
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