Strategic Content Alliance Suite

The Strategic Content Alliance has now
published a suite of products covering
different elements of its work,from audience
research to intellectual property rights in
support of the vision of the e-content framework.

The publications encompass guides, briefing papers,
navigation guides and toolkits. All are available
to download for free as PDFs

Life sentence passed

News from the Sound Copyright team...

Against widespread dissent and controversy MEPs in
the European Parliament have voted to allow copyright
term extension to pass a first reading.

4 out of the 7 main groups (ALDE, GREENS/EFA, NGL,
IND/ DEM) together with a cross party platform of MEPs
voted to reject the proposal.
Internal opposition threatened the group positions of the
two largest parties (PSE and EPP) as several national
delegations and key MEPS also joined the fight to reject.
We understand that, in total, 222 voted in favour of
rejection, 370 against. The final vote was 317 in favour,
178 against, 37 abstentions. A key amendment to ensure
benefits accrued only to performers was also rejected.

The proposal now moves forward to the Council of Ministers
where it is currently blocked by member states. The fundamental
problems remain: how to include a workable use-it-or-lose it clause;
agreeing to deliver real benefits to the vast majority of performers;
how to avoid breaking the respect necessary for a functioning IP
system by simply taking money from the pockets of consumers.

Discussions on the proposal will be held in the Council of Ministers and
you can find out how to contact your governments relevant IP body here:
(We understand the blocking minority is currently made up of Slovenia,
Portugal, Austria, Netherlands, Sweden, Slovakia, Denmark, Belgium,
Finland, Romania).

Jack Cardiff

Jack Cardiff, the renowned cinematographer has died at the age of 94.



Guardian obituary 1

Guardian obituary 2

JISC digital media training

Our full range of JISC (UK HE sector)
digital media courses can be viewed here:

All of these courses are scheduled to run in Bristol. 
However, JISC is often able to provide on-site training
and almost all of their workshops can be requested as
a one-to-one (see the training page on their website for
details).

Courses include Copyright and digital media; Digitising
analogue video recordings and Recording for web delivery.

ARSC - audio preservation statement

ARSC TECHNICAL COMMITTEE
PRESERVATION STATEMENT

The Association for Recorded Sound Collections 
Technical Committee (ARSC TC) has published its 
current preservation statement in "Preservation of
Archival Sound Recordings." The document contains 
the committee's recommendations for preserving sound 
recordings, more specifically for transferring sound 
recordings to an archival digital format, based on the
state of the art and the technology in 2009.

This statement updates the ARSC/AAA (Associated Audio 
Archives) recommended practices that guided audio 
preservation work starting in the late 1980s.

"Preservation of Archival Sound Recordings" provides 
general guidance using, as much as possible, language 
accessible to a non-expert audience. Those with more 
experience in preservation matters may also find it 
useful. The document is not intended to offer specific 
procedures or best practices. For that level of detail, 
refer to the ARSC TC's annotated list "Essential
Resources for Audio Preservation," at the link below.

The updated preservation statement should provide useful 
guidance to public and private archives, libraries, museums, 
and other collections that include recordings of speech, 
music, ambient sounds, and other audio.

For more information about the ARSC TC and to view 
"Preservation of Archival Sound Recordings" and
"Essential Resources for Audio Preservation":



The Association for Recorded Sound Collections is a nonprofit 
organization dedicated to the preservation and study of sound 
recordings -- in all genres of music and speech, in all formats, 
and from all periods. ARSC is unique in bringing together 
private individuals and institutional professionals --
everyone with a serious interest in recorded sound.

"Missing links" registration open

JISC, the DPC and the UK Web Archiving Consortium
are pleased to announce online registrations are
now open for: missing links : the enduring web
21 July 2009 The British Library Conference Centre, London
Online registration now open.

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Cyfrwng Conference

CYFRWNG 2009 CONFERENCE
BBC Cymru Wales, Cardiff
7-8 May 2009

'Audiences'

The Cyfrwng 2009 conference will be held at the
BBC Cymru Wales Broadcasting Centre, Cardiff
on 7-8 May and this year’s theme is ‘Audiences’.

During the two day event, an array of speakers,
papers and panels will consider many different
aspects of media Audiences in Wales from the
changes in audience usage of media to issues of
regulation and accountability. Emphasis will be on
the specific needs of Welsh audiences in a range of
areas including children’s programming and theatre
audiences. Attention will also be paid to the impact of
new media technologies within the multiplatform era.

The future of news in Wales will also be considered with
the plurality of news a key aspect for discussion
conference aims to bring together scholarly voices and
industry professionals and to encourage dialogue
academy and the media industry.

Confirmed speakers include:

Menna Richards, Controller of BBC Cymru Wales
Alun Ffred Jones, AM and Welsh Assembly
Government Heritage Minister
Alun Davies, AM Labour
Judith Isherwood, Chief Executive of the Wales
Millennium Centre
Alan Edmunds, Editorial Director of Media Wales
and Western Mail Editor
Elis Owen, Controller of ITV Wales
Professor Kevin Williams, Swansea University
John McGrath, Artistic Director, National Theatre Wales
Elwyn Williams, Marketing Manager,
Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru
Dr Cynthia Carter, Cardiff University
Tony Wearn, Research Director, BARB
Sangeet Bhullar, Wise Kids
Professor Hamish Fyfe, University of Glamorgan
Simon Marshall, First Light
Siân Eirian, Head of Children’s Service, S4C
Dr Ceri Sherlock, BBC Cymru Wales Commissioning
Executive, Arts
Nia Ceidiog, Cynyrchiadau Ceidiog Creations

Cinémathèque française update: digitisation

To follow up on the digitisation of the movies from
the Société des Films Albatros among others,
La Cinémathèque française continues to digitise its
most precious collections.

Today, La Cinémathèque française announces the
release of two new digital online collections:
First, the laterna magica website, which
features around 1,500 digitised magic lantern slides
from the collections of the Royal Polytechnic Institution
and of the “Life models” type.
Second, the digital library of cinema, where rare
books from the Will Day collection as well as titles collected
by Henri Langlois himself and his close colleague Lotte Eisner
can be consulted.

These websites will be updated as from the end of 2009 with
new digitised collections.

Ynyffram - secures stage 2 funding

The Welsh language pilot internet film site Yn y ffram has secured additional funding. The site has been created by staff at the Dept. of Theatre Film an Television Studies, Aberystwyth University, together with other academic partners and the National Screen and Sound Archive of Wales, as a resource for students studying film through the medium of Welsh.

Gathering the world's jewels

UNESCO and 32 partner institutions will launch the
World Digital Library, a web site that features unique
cultural materials from libraries and archives from
around the world, at UNESCO Headquarters on 21 April.
The site will include manuscripts, maps, rare books, films,
sound recordings, and prints and photographs. It will
provide unrestricted public access, free of charge, to this
material.

The launch will take place at a reception co-hosted by
UNESCO Director-General, Koïchiro Matsuura, and U.S.
Librarian of Congress, James H. Billington. Directors of the
partner institutions will also be on hand to present the
project to ambassadors, ministers, delegates, and special
guests attending the semi-annual meeting of UNESCO’s
Executive Board.


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Il Cinema Ritrovato 2009

Expect news fairly soon of the Il Cinema Ritrovato (silent film) festival June 27 - 4 July.

I've received the traditional, wordy flyer, which would take far too much time and energy to translate onto this blog.

Very interesting stuff.

Hopefully the info will be available on this website by May.

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Missing links : the enduring web

JISC, the DPC and the UK Web Archiving Consortium
give early notice of:
missing links : the enduring web
21 July 2009 The British Library Conference Centre.

The web runs at risk.  Our generation has witnessed
a revolution in human communications on a trajectory
with the origins the written word and language
itself.  Early web pages have an historical importance
with prehistoric cave paintings or proto-historic pressed
clay ciphers.  And they are just as fragile.

Key issues for long-term access and preservation of web
resources remain unresolved.
How can content creators make sure their creation is
durable?
Who is responsible for web content through time?
How do web archives relate to data curation and
traditional archives?
What audiences should web archives support and what
does this mean for selection, ingest and preservation?
Are preservation managers aware of the practical
requirements of web managers?
Are web managers thinking about the long term?
What will the web be like as an historical source,
and what use will be made of it by future generations?
How will they validate it? How will they cite it? What
are our missing links? How can these be filled?
Sponsored by the Digital Preservation Coalition (DPC)
and the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC)
the six partners of the UK Web Archiving Consortium
(British Library, National Library of Wales, JISC,
Wellcome Library, The National Archives and the
National Library of Scotland) are organising
a joint workshop on the 21st July 2009 at the BL
Conference Centre, Euston Road, London.

This event will bring together key stakeholders -
web managers, archive managers, preservation experts,
national libraries, web archivists and content providers
- for practical and focussed discussion on shared
perspectives, requirements, problems and solutions.
Formal presentations and case studies
will be presented with an opportunity for posters and
demonstrations of tools. The day will close with a plenary
discussion, and we intend it to support a
DPC-commissioned Technology Watch Report.

The event will be free of charge.

Why should you come?

Help to shape the UK's web archiving and preservation
agenda
Share your preservations concerns and aspirations.
Learn from organisations currently preserving websites.
Understand new services and projects working in web
archiving.
Anticipate the evolution of a rapidly changing field
Contribute your web archiving expertise to the repository
community
Put the date in your diary and register your interest in
advance.
Look out for the full call for registration online.

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COMMUNIA Thematic Network

The COMMUNIA Thematic Network on
the Digital Public Domain
is a project co-financed by European Commission
eContentPlus Programme.
The main goal of the COMMUNIA project is to build
a network of organisations that shall become the
single European point of reference for high-level
policy discussion and strategic action on all
issues related to the public domain in the digital
environment, as well as related topics such as
alternative forms of licensing for creative material
(including, but not limited to, Creative Commons licenses),
open access to scientific publications and research
results, management of works whose authors are unknown
(i.e. orphan works).
The project has created a specific working group on
"Libraries, Museums and Archives".
This network is organizing its next International
Conference in Torino in June 2009

Info via CEG.
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TRANSISTOR - Workshop on Preservation

CIANT_International Centre for Art and New

Technologies in collaboration with FAMU presents:

Preservation techniques and methodologies

for digital and audiovisual records, Prague,

Czech Republic May 20-23, 2009

Among the speakers:
Richard Wright, BBC (UK)
Dalit Naor, IBM (Israel)
Richard Rinehard, UC Berkeley Art Museum /
Pacific Film Archive (USA)
Don Foresta, Research artist and theoretician in art
and other lecturers from 7 countries
APPLICATION DEADLINE: 15th April 2009
(please contact us if you need more time)
Limited number of participants: 18 more information:

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