Neki zvučni zapisi čine arhivsko gradivo, predstavljaju kulturno dobro i dio su nacionalne baštine te se kao takvi trebaju zaštititi i biti dostupni široj javnosti. Najbolji način za očuvanje uz osiguranje dostupnosti je njihovo arhiviranje. Ovaj članak bavi se važnim aspektima arhiviranja zvučnih zapisa. Najprije su pojašnjeni osnovni pojmovi, dane su uvodne natuknice, kratki povijesni pregled stvaranja zvučnih zapisa,nabrojane su i opisane vrste zvučnih zapisa prema nosaču na koji su pohranjeni, pojašnjena je uloga zvučnih zapisa kao informacija i kao arhivskog i kulturnog dobra. Zatim su u drugom poglavlju opisana načela i strategije za očuvanje zvučnih zapisa: koraci od kojih se sastoji
postupak arhiviranja zvučnih zapisa, karakteristike medija za pohranu zvučnih zapisa s obzirom na njihovu nestabilnost, zastarijevanje i osjetljivost na vanjske utjecaje te najbolji uvjeti za njihovo očuvanje, ukratko je pojašnjen postupak digitalizacije zvučnih zapisa i karakteristika ciljnog formata zvučnih zapisa sa svrhom njihova arhiviranja. Slijedi poglavlje koji se bavi najpoznatijim standardima za opis zvučnih zapisa. Također je prikazan uzorak za opis zvučnih zapisa i primjer opisa zvučnog zapisa. U posljednjem poglavlju govori se o stanju u Hrvatskoj s aspekta stanja zvučnih zapisa i njihova arhiviranja.Some sound recordings are a part of the cultural and national heritage and as such they represent archival records. They should be protected but at the same time available to the public. Through the past, sound recordings have been created and played using a variety of equipment for recording and reproducing sound. Different segments of human activities that are of cultural, national and practical significance have been recorded. Therefore sound recordings are included among the archival records. They are kept in the youngest segments of the archives - sound archives. Storage media for sound recordings are susceptible to external influencesand to damage caused by improper use, inappropriate storage or equipment for reproduction. Therefore, in sound archives the best conditions should be ensured in order to avoid changes to the carriers and retain its original shape as long as possible. As the deterioration of the carriers over time is, however, inevitable, the only way to preserve sound recordings stored on them is by transferring files onto new media. In recent years, the problem of obsolescence of the carriers and equipment is increasingly being handled by digitizing sound recordings and by making those digitized copies available to the public while storing the recordings in their original form and format. The quality of digital recordings mostly depends on the methods of sampling and quantization of the analogue signal during its conversion to the digital format, and file format. In order to clarify the context and content of archival records and thus increase their availability, the archival records are described. For this purpose there are different norms and standards. First sound recordings in Croatia have been created as early as 1900. We can say that Croatia has a long tradition of the sound recording, but there is no institution that systematically takes care of them. Sound recordings that represent archival records are stored in multiple locations, either in institutions or private collections. In some institutions they are not available for the public use, and in private collections largely not available and unlisted. It is therefore of utmost importance that Croatian sound archive is founded. Although there were attempts to establish a central Croatian sound archive in the past, it still does not exist. If the situation does not change soon, many recordings could forever be lost or permanently destroyed
