Preservation Lab
Send us the tape before it stops playing
A working audio transfer lab inside a charity, open to anyone in Canada. Flat published rates, no minimum order, a condition report with every job, and the surplus goes straight back into free kit loans and public access. We have transferred 4,180 hours and lost none of them.
The signal chain
One pass, real time, nothing “improved”
Preservation transfer means capturing what is actually on the carrier, including the hum and the dropouts. We do not de-noise, de-click or normalise the master. If you want a cleaned listening version for broadcast, we make that separately and keep both.
Rates in Canadian dollars
What each carrier costs
Rates are per carrier and include inspection, cleaning, transfer, both file versions, checksums and the condition report. Tax is extra. Members of the Institute and registered charities pay the consortium rate shown in the last column.
| Carrier | Common years | Per item | Turnaround | Charity rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Compact cassette | 1968–2002 | $48 | 2–3 weeks | $38 |
| Quarter-inch open reel, to 10.5″ | 1950–1995 | $110 | 3–4 weeks | $88 |
| DAT | 1990–2005 | $75 | 3–4 weeks | $60 |
| MiniDisc | 1993–2010 | $55 | 2 weeks | $44 |
| Microcassette / dictation | 1969–2004 | $52 | 2–3 weeks | $42 |
| Lacquer or acetate disc, per side | 1935–1960 | $185 | 6–8 weeks | $148 |
| Wire recording | 1946–1955 | assessment first | 8+ weeks | by quote |
| Born-digital files or cards, per hour | 2000–present | $65 | 1–2 weeks | $52 |
| Service | Rate | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Condition assessment and written report | $95 | Waived if the transfer proceeds. Required for wire, disc and any mouldy material. |
| Item-level description by an archivist | $75 / hour | Names, places, dates, languages and topics, written to our published schema. |
| Checked transcript, English | $2.90 / audio minute | Machine draft corrected by ear against the recording, speaker-labelled. |
| Checked transcript, French | $3.40 / audio minute | Also available for Mi'kmaw and Scottish Gaelic through partner transcribers. |
| Cleaned listening version | $40 / hour | For broadcast or exhibition. Delivered alongside the untouched master, never instead of it. |
| Rush handling | +40% | Subject to bench availability. We will not rush a fragile carrier for any fee. |
| Insured return courier, Atlantic Canada | $35 | Or collect in person at Gottingen Street during opening hours. |
What you receive
Seven things arrive back
- 01Your original carriersReturned in archival sleeves with new labels. We never keep an original unless you deposit it.
- 02Preservation masterBroadcast WAV, 96 kHz/24-bit, one file per side or per pass, unedited.
- 03Embedded metadataBWF fields carrying the originating machine, operator, date and your own identifiers.
- 04Access copyMP3 at 192 kbps for listening, sharing and emailing to family.
- 05Checksum manifestSHA-256 for every file so you can prove nothing has changed in ten years.
- 06Condition reportPhotographs, carrier type, faults found, treatment applied, and what to expect next.
- 07A drive, or your cloudDelivered on a supplied SSD ($60) or uploaded to storage you control.
Getting a quote takes one email
Tell us roughly how many carriers, what types, and whether anything smells musty or looks furry. Photographs help enormously. We reply within two working days with a written estimate and a bench date.
- No minimum order — one cassette is a real job
- Estimates are fixed, not indicative
- Nothing proceeds without your written go-ahead
- You keep every right you had before you sent it
If you smell mould, stop
Do not open the box indoors, do not play the tape, and do not try to clean it. Seal it in a bag, keep it cool and dry, and call us on (902) 555-0187. Mould spreads through a collection in weeks and a single play can shed the layer that carries the recording. We quarantine and treat mould-affected carriers at no extra charge for charities.
Bigger projects
Commissioned collections, start to finish
Municipalities, unions, museums, universities and community associations bring us projects where the interviews have not been recorded yet. We design the sample, train and supervise the interviewers, run the recording, then transfer, describe and deposit the result — with your organization named as the collection's originator.
30–80 interviews
Six to eighteen months from scoping to a catalogued, opened collection.
$14,000–$90,000
Quoted in stages so a project can pause between funding rounds without loss.
Everything
Copyright, credit and a full set of files. We hold the preservation copy and provide public access on the terms your narrators chose.