UNESCO World Day for Audiovisual Heritage - It’s your story – don’t lose it!

October 27 marks the celebration of the World Day for Audio-visual Heritage in institutions around the world to raise awareness of the need to preserve audiovisual assets in our collections for current and future generations.

The theme for this year is “It’s your story – don’t lose it!”.

The Co-ordinating Council of Audiovisual Archives Association (CCAAA) expands on the theme, that “every culture, every country has its own story to tell. These stories remind us of our shared humanity and build connections between people. … we want to collect the stories that prove the value for use in advocating for archives”. Visit the official website to see how collecting institutions around the world are acknowledging this day.

Here at State Library, we collect items that tell the stories of Queenslanders. We have original film, video and audio items that reflect the culture and history of Queensland, and are charged with the preservation and care of these collections. Preservation measures include proper storage, treatment and transfer/conversion of content. Through our on-going efforts to turn significant analogue content to digital, we are also able to share collections more easily to a wider audience online.

The story of Frank W. Moorhouse (Acc# 30149) was featured in June this year on the John Oxley Library blog. Frank spent 6 months in 1930-1931 as a marine biologist in Mer (Murray Island), and brought along a newly acquired 9.5mm Pathe Baby camera. The films, though not of high quality, provides a good insight of Mer in 1930.

https://vimeo.com/187295982

Another interesting story is from the Bloomfield River Oral History Project, also featured on the John Oxley Library blog,  is the interview of a couple from Ohio, Hank and Ruth Hershberger (OH55/17), who studied the Kuku Yalanji language and even compiled a dictionary of the language.

This year’s theme of preserving our stories not only highlights the importance of our on-going preservation efforts, it also reminds us about the importance to continually acquire or create collections. With digital recording technology being so easily available, most people for example, can record interviews on their smartphones. Often times the content is forgotten, deleted by mistake, or have not been saved and backed up.

If you are recording significant digital content and would like to preserve them in the long term, it is a good idea to choose formats that are commonly used and well supported, and lossless or uncompressed. For example, in the State Library, all archival audio files are recorded at minimum, in uncompressed PCM WAV, 24 bit, 48kHz. Audio files are properly named and linked to description information. The digital files are managed and not just stored and forgotten in computer hard drives and servers. Digital files are backed up regularly, checked, and migrated as required.

You can do your part for World Day for Audiovisual Heritage. Locate your audiovisual items, both analogue and digital that might have been forgotten and make a start by caring for your collections. Here are some links to guides to preserving your collection, to ensure that your heritage materials are accessible in the future.

• State Library of Queensland: www.slq.qld.gov.au/resources/preserving-collections/preservation_guides
• National Archives of Australia – Preserving Magnetic Media: www.naa.gov.au/records-management/agency/preserve/physical-preservation/magnetic-media.aspx
• National Film and Sound Archive – Care for Audiovisual Materials: www.nfsa.gov.au/preservation/care/
• /whats-on/programs/born-digital-2016
• /resources/qld-history/connected-collection-of-queensland-memory/digitisation-toolkit/digitising-audio-and-audio-visual-material

SLQ Conservation Clinics are also available bimonthly, where conservation staff offer one-on-one consultations to help you look after your personal treasures including audiovisual collections. You can also make time to consult with Conservation staff by email or phone if you are not in Brisbane. Bookings 07 3842 9069, enquiries 07 3840 7779.

Swee Cheng Wong - Audiovisual Conservator, State Library of Queensland