Let’s face it, taking care of audiovisual materials can be intimidating. It requires specialized expertise, antiquated equipment, and lots of hard-to-come-by funding. But this doesn’t have to be the case. A little knowledge goes a long way.
If you understand what you have, you’ll be able to figure out what to do with it, how to talk to vendors, determine costs, create access, and plan next steps for these materials. You don’t have to become a moving image archivist but being able to tackle that shoebox full of weird old film and tape will empower you to make good choices about the materials in your care.
In this half-day workshop, experts in film, video, and audiotape will demystify the reels and cassettes sitting on shelves and tucked away in boxes. Participants will learn to identify formats, make basic condition assessments, and create access to materials using simple DIY techniques. The instructors will offer hands-on opportunities to become familiar with a variety of formats such as 16mm film, 3/4" U-matic videotape, and ¼” audiotape, among many others. Participants will walk away from the workshop armed with resources, information, and techniques to help them care for their audiovisual collections.
A/V 101 is hosted by Moving Image Preservation of Puget Sound. MIPoPS was formed to help local archives, libraries, and heritage organizations with analog video in their collections, with neither the resources nor expertise to address these at-risk materials. Experts from the University of Washington Libraries will discuss audiotape formats and address the basics of digital preservation. AV101 is the first in a series of Community Archiving Workshops devoted to educating professionals in the care and preservation of our region’s visual heritage.