Documentation:Toolkit for the Digitization of First Nations Knowledge/SECTION D: Audio Digitization/D1: Audio Cassette Tape/D1.1a Appendix: File naming - Audio cassette file examples

Option One: For an audio cassette collection that already have unique identifiers that could be used for filenames (e.g. do not violate file naming rules such as including spaces or special characters, or are not too long), these can be used as prefixes. Their advantage is in providing a consistent link between the analogue physical media that has been digitized and the digitized file. Consider transforming existing identifiers by changing capitals to lowercase and filling spaces with hyphens or underlines. In order to manage the masters, access masters, access copies and sub-copies, consider the suggestion in the table below for a suffix structure that distinguishes the type of file and its relationship to different formats and versions. Always use the three letter format code following a period (as in “.wav”) in all file naming activities.

Option Two: For a collection without an existing numbering system the following represents another way of naming, or a project code or date prefix could be used (e.g. 2012_####).

File type	File structure	Example	Comments
master	cc_####_a.wav	cc_0025_a.wav cc_0025_b.wav	“cc” stands for compact cassette “####” is a zero filled number which can accommodate 9,999 cassettes “a” or “b” represents side a or side b “wav” indicates the format for a master recording as either a lossless wave or broadcast wave format without additional processing
access master	cc_####_am-a.wav	cc_0025_am-a.wav cc_0025_am-b.wav	As above “am” - access master is the complete side a or b Processing for noise reduction and other manipulations may be applied
access copy	cc_####_ac-a.mp3	cc_0025_ac-a.mp3	As above “ac” – access copy is the complete side a or b. File format is dependent on access requirements such as player or streaming options
access sub-copy	cc_####_ac-a_001.mp3	cc_0025_ac-a_001.mp3	As above Sub sections of the full recording may be created “_001” indicates the numbered clip or track (portion) of the tape

For additional information on file naming for audio files see Sound Directions Section 3.2.3 on local file naming for more options for naming digital audio files. See also Section B5 of this document for file naming conventions.

References