Publication on audiovisual collections

'Tracking the reel world' presents the results of a study on
audiovisual collections undertaken in the framework of the TAPE
project. Based on data collected from hundreds of organizations from
all over Europe, most of them archives, libraries, museums (and
research) institutes that hold audiovisual recordings as minority
collections, this is the first extensive report on preservation and
access of sound and moving image materials outside the broadcasting
sector and large audiovisual archives.

The report shows that a rich diversity of audiovisual materials are
held in all types of institutions, but that obstacles in managing
them are experienced by many. The study provides estimates on the
size of collections, on the presence of specific carriers and their
condition. It also presents data on deteriorating materials,
obsolete equipment, cataloguing backlogs, and lack of expertise -
all problems that are reported frequently.

The report documents how non-specialist institutions employ new
technology for preservation and access of audiovisual materials and
concludes that uncertainties about the rapidly evolving digital
environment make progress hesitant. Valuable and often unique
recordings run the risk of being left behind. The promise
digitization holds for easy access and survival of endangered
materials can be fulfilled only with more support for minority
collections in their transition to the digital world.

Ordering information:

    Edwin Klijn and Yola de Lusenet.
    Tracking the reel world: A survey of audiovisual collections in
    Europe.
    ISBN 978-90-6984-546-3

Copies can be ordered from the ECPA Secretariat at the address
below. Anyone requesting a  single copy will receive this free of
charge.

The report is also available as a PDF file at

  <URL:http://www.tape-online.net/docs/tracking_the_reel_world.pdf>

The TAPE project, Training for Audiovisual Preservation in Europe,
is supported by the Culture 2000-programme of the EU.

Anne Muller
European Commission on Preservation and Access (ECPA)
c/o Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences
PO Box 19121
NL-1000 GC
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
+31 20 551 08 39
Fax: +31 20 620 49 41


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 21:49
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