The State Library of NSW has an archive of more than 13,000 hours of audio material which includes historically significant interviews and oral histories representing people, places and events of NSW and beyond. Many of these materials were recorded on now obsolete and at-risk technologies like cassettes. Providing access to much of this material has been challenging in the past as only on-site visitors to the State Library in Sydney were able to listen to these collections for the purposes of research, study or enjoyment.
As part of the Digital Excellence Program, the Library has now digitised its vast archive of thousands of hours of audio material, some of which can be accessed via a newly launched digital audio player available on the Library's catalogue preview website. The custom-built player enables customers to listen to digital audio files online from any device, as well as read, search and download any associated transcripts.
With the help of this initiative, we have been able to provide customers a simple and seamless way to access important audio collections with only few clicks. This has made the process of accessing audio material for research and study significantly easier, opening up the Library's collections to a far wider audience. As well as providing access online, the Library is also using cutting edge artificial intelligence technology to generate high quality transcripts for all audio material available online, making these collections more useful for research and more accessible for all.
