World Day for Audiovisual Heritage

October 27 is World Day for Audiovisual Heritage. For this year, the theme is: Audiovisual Heritage - See, Hear and Learn!

Audiovisual heritage are recorded sounds, films, television, radio and other productions (primarily of the 20^th and 21^st centuries) created and preserved because of their historical value. AV heritage has transcended language and cultural boundaries of information, as well as literacy and illiteracy in complement with traditional printed records.  Most audiovisual heritage had been destroyed and damaged because of neglect, decay and lack of knowledge and resources. Until on October 27, 2005, the UNESCO approved the World Day for AV Heritage to raise public awareness of the importance of audiovisual heritage and the need to preserve them.

In the Philippines, aside from World Day for AV Heritage, another thing to celebrate is finally the establishment of a national film archive under the supervision of the Film Development Council of the Philippines. See http://www.pia.gov.ph/wdavh2011/?m=3&i=ph-nfa&sm=events.

AV Archives: A Philippine Scenario

This post features two of the best AV archives in the country: the ABS-CBN FIlm Archives and MOWELFUND Film Archives.

 ABS-CBN FIlm Archives

This is definitely one of the most well-funded AV archives that houses most of the materials which make up Filipino movie and television history.

MOWELFUND Film Archives

Movie Workers Welfare Foundation, Inc. is a non-profit, non-stock, educational organization which was founded in 1974 for the workers in the Philippine movie industry. It is currently located in Quezon City in an unfinished building not so much recommended for the AV archives. The film archive has insufficient budget to preserve its current and growing collection. Visit MOWELFUND website for more details.

What is Audiovisual Archive?

Apart from traditional archives, one interesting and burgeoning field in today’s information age is audiovisual archives.  It is a distinct discipline from the traditional paper archiving, libraries, and museology. Generally, an archive is a collection of historical records or a place in which they are kept. There are two kinds of archives: First, the traditional paper archiving which is done for the longest time even before the birth of audiovisual information. The knowledge of paper history and ways on the retardation of paper deterioration is important in the traditional paper archiving. Audiovisual archiving, on the other hand, is the guardianship and retrieval of archival records in audiovisual format. Unlike in paper archiving, the creation and access of information in AV archiving require technological devices such as compact discs, magnetic discs, CD players, etc.

Modern libraries include audiovisual records in their collection. Compared to AV archives, libraries have a more updated AV collection. Once these AV materials are updated, the older ones with long-term information value are put in AV archives.

Museology is the field in which objects or artifacts with historical value are preserved and exhibited to the public. While museology deals with tangible objects, AV archiving preserves the intangible information contained in technological devices.

What are audiovisual media?

Audiovisual media are recorded sounds and images intended for public reception by means of television or screen projections and intended to make available to public. They are created, reproduced and accessed through carriers that require technological devices.

What is the concept of “context and content” in audiovisual archives?

Content and context are two components of audiovisual media. The “context” refers to the carrier on which the recorded sounds and images reside.  Examples are the compact discs, films, slides, filmstrips and videograms.  Audiovisual media are not made in a vacuum; the “content” is the audiovisual records contained in these carriers. Examples are videos, sounds and photographs.  Access to both and migration of the content from one carrier to another for preservation or access purposes are necessary but it may sometimes result to change of the original content.

Analog and digital records

       Analog audio recordings are the ones recorded in compact cassettes, cartridges, cylinders, and others and analog video recordings are the ones contained in betamax, 2 inch quad and Philips format. While analog records are now obsolete, digital records are the current format. Examples of digital records are the ones recorded in compact discs, digital video discs, and blue ray discs. To preserve the analog AV records, migration to digital format is done.

Audiovisual heritage

      Audiovisual heritage are recorded sounds, films, television, radio and other productions (primarily of the 20^th and 21^st centuries) created and preserved because of their historical value. AV heritage has transcended language and cultural boundaries of information, as well as literacy and illiteracy in complement with traditional printed records.  Most audiovisual heritage had been destroyed and damaged because of neglect, decay and lack of knowledge and resources. Until on October 27, 2005, the UNESCO approved the World Day for AV Heritage to raise public awareness of the importance of audiovisual heritage and the need to preserve them.

        Just like in traditional paper archiving, it is imperative to know the history and nature of audiovisual materials. AV media undergo different chemical and technical processes during manufacture. With this knowledge, archivists would understand why and how AV materials deteriorate, and therefore also know how to retard or fight against their deterioration.

Reference:

Edmondson, R. (2004). Audiovisual Archiving: Philosophy and Principles. UNESCO.

UP SLIS Golden Anniversary

Calling all UP School of Library & Information Studies (UP SLIS) students and alumni to come and join the kick-off celebration for UP SLIS Golden Anniversary and the UP Library Science Alumni Association 61st Alumni Homecoming. Save the date on May 14, 2011, 2:00pm at the UP National College of Public Administration (NCPAG) Auditorium.

The history of UP School of Library and Information Studies (first known as Institute of Library Science) can be traced back from 1914 when library courses were offered under the College of Liberal Arts with James Alexander Robertson as the first UP library science professor. It was formally established on 1961 as the first library school in the country. A year later, graduate program for Library Science was offered. In 2002, the school was renamed into the Institute of Library and Information Science. The curriculum of the BLIS course was revised and four tracks were included; these are health, law, information technology, and archives and records management. Five years after, it was renamed into School of Library and Information Studies continuing to be the top library school in the country. 

Please visit http://50.upslis.info/ for more information and updates on the UP SLIS 50th Anniversary. See you there fellas!

Postcript. The elections for the UPLSAA 2011-2012 Executive Board is now on-going. Cast your votes here.

Happy 25th EDSA Revolution Anniversary!

Look what I’ve found in the library! It’s the queen of all media in the Philippines during a march for her dad Ninoy. It looks like in this picture that she has already won the public with her charisma during her youngster years.

May we always be reminded that there are people in the past who sacrificed so much for the Philippines. May we not just commemorate and look up to them but we may also learn to follow their footsteps. May we not just watch news and how those f#%@ government officials corrupt our nation’s money, OUR money (including the taxes I pay every month!).  Everybody is part of this country. Let us ourselves initiate vigilance and do our responsibilities as an active and important part of society.

Happy 25^th EDSA Revolution Anniversary!