Opportunity: Recordings at Risk

Sponsor: Council on Library and Information Resources

Funding: Between $10,000 and $60,000. Indirect costs not allowed.

Length: Proposals may not exceed 12 months and must take place between September 1, 2026 and August 31, 2027

Internal deadline: 11/24/25 @ 11:59 pm

Description:

Recordings at Risk is a national re-granting program administered by the Council on Library and Information Resources, CLIR, to support the preservation of rare and unique audio, audiovisual, and other time-based media of high scholarly value through digital reformatting.

Harvard University, as single institution, is limited to submitting one, (1), proposal to CLIR’s 13th cycle of the Recordings at Risk program.  The Office of the Vice Provost for Research is facilitating an internal application and selection process for eligible and interested applicants.

The Recordings at Risk program supports digital reformatting of rare and unique audio, moving image, and audiovisual content captured on fragile or obsolescent media. Eligible media include, but are not necessarily limited to:

• Audio: open-reel audio tape, compact cassette, shellac/vinyl/lacquer disc, wax cylinder, wire recording, microcassette, digital audio tape (DAT), compact disc, MiniDisc
• Video: VHS, U-Matic, 8mm, Betamax, Betacam, Digital8, DV, MiniDV
• Film: 8mm, 16mm, 35mm, Super 8.

Because the program is intended to help organizations without pre-existing capacity in reformatting, grant recipients are required to work with qualified external service providers with the capacity to handle their media, transfer content, and advise grant recipients on the long-term stewardship of the digital files created through their projects. Grant recipients must create descriptive metadata for these digital files and make this metadata freely available online, even if they cannot make the files themselves fully available.

For additional information and to apply, please click here, https://btly.communityforce.com/47HNnl4