The following is a text-only press release from the federal Institute of
Museum and Library Services (IMLS). An HTML version of this release with
important links can be viewed on the agency's Web site at
http://www.imls.gov/news/2009/112009a.shtm

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 20, 2009

IMLS Press Contacts
202-653-4632

Jeannine Mjoseth, [log in to unmask]
Mamie Bittner, [log in to unmask] 

IMLS Funds Research on 3D Scanner Technology to Save Endangered
Recordings

Washington, DC-The Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National
Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) will advance technology that can recover and
digitally re-master rare early sound recordings made on wax cylinders -
including experimental recordings created in the 1880's by Alexander
Graham Bell -- even when the original cylinder is cracked or broken. The
research project, which includes development of a mobile 2D scanning
device, builds on previous successes of the "3D/PRISM" or "IRENE-3D"
project, which significantly impacted research and practice in the area
of early audio recordings preservation. 

The current IRENE projects are funded in part by the Institute of Museum
and Library Services (IMLS) under the National Leadership Grant program.
Other project partners include the Library of Congress, The Phoebe
Hearst Museum of Anthropology, The University of Chicago's South Asia
Library, The Berlin Phonogramm Archive, The Smithsonian Institution's
National Museum of American History, the Edison National Historic Site,
and the University of Applied Science, Fribourg, Switzerland.

In the project's first stage (2005-2006, funded by the National
Endowment for the Humanities), Berkeley Lab created IRENE-2D (Image,
Reconstruct, Erase Noise, Etc.), technology that gathered digital sound
from grooved discs (flat recordings such as traditional 78 rpm shellac
disc records) by illuminating the record surface with a narrow beam of
light. The flat bottoms of the groove -- and the spaces between tracks
-- appeared white, while the sloped sides of the groove, scratches, and
dirt appeared black. The computer turned this information into a digital
sound file and corrected areas where scratches, breaks or wear made the
groove wider or narrower than normal. IRENE then "played" the file with
a virtual needle without damaging or destroying the original media. The
technology was adapted from methods used to build radiation detectors
for high-energy physics experiments. 

In stage two (2008-2009, funded by IMLS), Berkeley Lab developed a 3D
imaging sound player to read foil, wax, plastic cylinders (which
preceded the development of flat records), plastic dictation belts, and
discs. The 3D technology read the cylinders since the sound was held in
vertical movements of the groove. The 3D device was based upon a type of
confocal microscope. White light directed at the surface of a cylinder
or disc passed through a special lens, creating a spectrum. Each color
of the spectrum came into focus at a different depth so the color of the
reflected light revealed the height of the scanned point. A computer
assembled these points into profiles for each groove and translated the
data into a sound file. The 3D scan extracted information based on 20-30
points - compared to IRENE-2D's 2-4 points - offering the possibility of
higher quality sound files. Tinfoil and wax cylinders were developed in
the late 1870s and 1880s, and cylinders remained in use until 1929, when
commercial production for these music recordings ceased. However,
cylinder technology continued to be used for dictation recordings for
office use into the early 1950s.

The new three-year research project will address large scale
digitization of collections through the design and evaluation of a
software control and analysis framework. For collections that are remote
or not transportable, a mobile 2D scanning device will be built and
evaluated in a remote application. Collaborating with the University of
Chicago South Asia Library, a system will be operated in India where
significant early 20th century recorded sound collections exist. In
addition, measurement studies will be made on copper "galvano" cylinder
molds from the Berlin Phonogramm Archive, and a collection of rare and
unusual experimental recordings created by Alexander Graham Bell in the
early 1880's from the collection of the Smithsonian Institution.
Software tools and measurement strategies for the virtual reassembly of
broken cylinders and discs will be evaluated. The latter will include a
measurement of the (broken) Dickson Cylinder, Thomas Edison's 1893
attempt to synchronize film and audio. 

The range of special studies has been chosen both to address key aspects
of the technology development and to gauge the potential benefit to
these and other important special collections. Other project activities
include archival workflow, field operation, special materials studies,
and further technical development to be carried out through a series of
national and international collaborations.

Berkeley Lab is a U.S. Department of Energy national laboratory located
in Berkeley, California. It conducts unclassified scientific research
for DOE's Office of Science and is managed by the University of
California. Visit their Web site at www.lbl.gov

About the Institute of Museum and Library Services 
The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of
federal support for the nation's 123,000 libraries and 17,500 museums.
The Institute's mission is to create strong libraries and museums that
connect people to information and ideas. The Institute works at the
national level and in coordination with state and local organizations to
sustain heritage, culture, and knowledge; enhance learning and
innovation; and support professional development. To learn more about
the Institute, please visit www.imls.gov.

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