Bury my bones but keep my words: The legacy of the dirge singer

The author’s experiences preparing and presenting at the 2013 (Nairobi, Kenya) and 2015 (Brussels, Belgium) SOIMA conferences form the basis for this reflection on the work of custodians safeguarding the sound and image heritage of the past. Drawing inspiration from the artistic reflections of acclaimed master poet Ko Awonoor and accomplished writer Yvonne Owuor on death and life viewed through …

Unlocking Sound and Image Heritage: Selected Readings from the 2015 SOIMA Conference

In Buenos Aires, the Museo del Cine – a small and relatively unknown museum – is working valiantly to save some of Latin America’s most valuable creative heritage. Dedicated to Argentina’s cinematographic history, the bulk of the collection currently consists of tens of thousands of film reels and video cassettes that are disintegrating and fading into obsolescence. Ravaged by war, the preservation of Syria’s …

Intertwining spheres: Public archiving of private home video collections

Public audiovisual archives like the Österreichische Mediathek (Austrian National Audiovisual Archive) have long been concerned with documenting the political as well as the cultural public sphere. National and international efforts have worked to collect and preserve historic film documents from the private sphere. An ongoing Österreichische Mediathek project addresses a source typically viewed as marginal: private video sources from the …

Foreword – Unlocking sound and image heritage: Selected readings from the 2015 SOIMA conference

This is the foreword to the book ‘SOIMA: Unlocking Sound and Image Heritage‘. The book offers tips and advice from dedicated professionals from all corners of the world for the preservation and creative use of sound and image heritage. As a resource, it aims to interest collectors, users and educators alike, as it offers compelling examples and strategies founded in evidence-based research. …

Changing gears: Fast-lane design for accelerated innovation in memory organisations

Audiovisual archives are embracing the opportunities offered by digitization for managing their work processes and offering new services to a wide array of user groups. Organization strategy, working processes and software development need to be able to support a culture where innovation can flourish. Some institutions are beginning to adopt the concept of ‘two-speed IT’. The core strategy aims to …

What to do with audiovisual carriers after their digitization? Proposal for a five-step decision making framework

Both traditional and more recent audiovisual carriers degrade. Even CD-ROMs have typically only a ten-year expected life span. In addition, playback equipment for both analogue and digital carriers will ultimately grow scarcer and more expensive to repair or replace. Archives and museums are inevitably faced with the decision of whether to preserve audiovisual carriers after their content has been digitized. …