The Stanford Media Preservation Lab (SMPL) team focuses on producing high-quality copies of archival content so that it may be easily accessed by researchers and others, and managed long-term in a systematic way for future users. We maintain an inventory of historic and contemporary playback equipment capable of handling the wide range of audiovisual recording formats in our collections. We work closely with curators, archivists, conservators and other staff responsible for the care and management of special collections and archival materials, including born-digital audiovisual content.

Any number of considerations may come into play in the course of archival media digitization work. Issues related to digital access -- online display, user access levels and playback functionality -- are determined with the input of curators or archivists. Multiple considerations related to the digital capture and production process are addressed by SMPL digitization specialists on a daily basis as a matter of course. Information about these essential assessments that are part and parcel of SMPL’s specialized work are described on subpages in this section of the exhibit.