Preservation of Sound Cultural Heritage.

The national cultural heritage consist of various components. Its contents can be considered in several aspects. For example, by the form establishments of culture (library, museum, theatre), kind of art (architecture, cinema, literature) etc. Inside museum assembly the cultural heritage is traditionally subdivided into a collection.

The museum assembly of the Vladimir-Suzdal museum-reserve includes a collection of phono-materials numbering 565 units of a storage. Among them the overwhelming majority make recordings (fixed capital - 346, scientific - auxiliary fund - 181 subjects). Most important subjects of fund concern to the beginning XX of century. Practically in each case the safety of a recording is much higher, than the safety of the information, written down on it. At the same time the phono-fund is a unique collection, for which value of information is more essentially then the material safety. Certainly, the physical safety (pollution, scratch, shabby, splinters, destroyed edge, crack renders the large influence on legibility of record.

For maintenance of safety of the information of phono-fund the works on digital processing recordings have been begun at the Vladimir-Suzdal museum-reserve. The initiators of this action became the employees of a department of computer science. Digital processing of recordings is conducted on standard hardware maintenance. The sound card Sound Bluster, device of a linear input Crystal Pnp Audio System CODEC is applied. We use built-in audio controller with a complete set of functions for high-quality record and reproduction of a sound supporting the appendices Sound Blaster Pro and Microsoft Windows Sound System. From specialised soft the program of compression Microsoft ADPCM CODEC is used; a package Sound Forge for Windows 95, version 4.5; Wave Lab Russian of the version 2.01; Dart Pro 98.

The process of processing of museum phono-fund carries scheduled character and is subdivided into 4 stages.

1 stage - analogue-digital transformation of a collection, translation of the information from the analogue form in digital;

2 stages - digital processing audio records through the specialised software with the purpose suppression of noise, elimination of clicks etc.;

3 stages - formation of a database on a collection of phono-fund within the framework of the Complex automated museum information system; connection of a database audio records to Complex Automate Museum Information System;

4 stages - formation of the electronic catalogues on a phono-fund collection. The accommodation of them in a local computer network of the Vladimir-Suzdal museum-reserve, and also on web-server of the museum. The use of digital phono-fund in exposition and exhibition activity.

The processing of a substantial part of museum phono-fund has been begun in the summer of the current year. And at once there was a question on planning experiment. We have solved, that it is more expedient to allocate a small part of important exhibits from a collection and to pass on its basis the whole chain of phono-materials processing: from digital processing before formation of the electronic catalogue. Step by step processing of all fund, i.e. 565 units, could be the worse variant. In this case the appreciable result we could have been received only in a long-term future.

Experiment on formation of the electronic catalogue including records, made in Russia and abroad in the beginning XX of century is been carried out now. The recordings in the catalogue have 2 levels of groupings: on the producing firm (for example, firm "Siren Grand Record", "Gramophone Concert Record") and on headings (aria from operas, Russian national songs etc.). It is supposed, that the catalogue card will contain the brief items of information on a subject of phono-fund (name, organisation-manufacturer, dating, description, legend) and 3 audio-files: initial both processed wav-files and mpg-file.

Received materials can be in the long term used as filling domestic servers on a cultural heritage. The Vladimir-Suzdal museum-reserve has been acquainted with the large interest with the information on the project "Sonoteka", published on server of Library of the foreign literature by Rudomino, and also from performances of the participants of the 2nd international conference "Internet. A Society. Person" in one St.-Petersburg. As far as we know, the participants of the project at present are only the universities and the libraries. But at the conference all the interested organisations and persons had been invited to take part in the project.

In this respect materials of phono-fund of the Vladimir-Suzdal museum-reserve can be of great interest as for the students studying Russian musical culture of the 20 century, and for the decision of a wider task of distribution audio resources in the Internet. The museum has all opportunities to supply content under the project "Sonoteka". The grants of Open society Institute have allowed us to supply modern technical and technological equipment for preparation of materials in the Internet. We have the Internet-channel of significant throughput, the means of audio files digital processing. In structure of a museum there is a department of a computer science, which experts have good professional training for the decision of tasks on the project "Sonoteka".

Using a case, I would like to address to the organisers of the project "Sonoteka" with the suggestion of the Vladimir-Suzdal museum participation in this project.

Irina M. Muzalevskaya: education is high; has finished computer science faculty of the Vladimir State University on a speciality of system engineering in 1994. With 1994 for 1997 - engineer-programmer of the Information centre of the Vladimir State University. Since 1997 till the present time - chief of a computer science department in State Vladimir-Suzdal history, architecture and art museum-reserve.

State Vladimir-Suzdal history, architecture and art museum-reserve is educational and research state non-commercial establishment of culture, keeper of a history and cultural heritage and art values - monuments to a history, archaeology, architecture, arts.