Photo of the day

Ynys Llanddwyn

On the coast of Anglesey, Llanddwyn Island is associated with Dwynwen, the Welsh Saint of lovers, and is a most beautiful and spiritual place.

The photo was taken on the wedding day of William and Kate, which I suppose is rather (unintentionally) apt, as they now reside just a few miles up the coast.

Photo of the day

King's College Cambridge

Photo of the day

This is Kyoto train station. I love "architectural" photography, and the Kyoto station provided some magnificent structures and angles (there are other views of the station on my flickr stream, if you click through and browse...).

I'd half considered visiting Kyoto again this May, it's such a wonderful combination of old and new, and late April to May provides a wonderful vista of Cherry Blossom lined walks.

However, with the recent tragedy to afflict Japan, it just wouldn't seem right to visit as a tourist, somehow. Perhaps I'll be able to visit again some day, in happier times.

Photo of the day

While much of the UK population is preparing for an extended holiday, work on a farm has to continue day in day out, no matter Bank Holidays or royal weddings.

I took this photo on the way down from the Mynydd Gorddu windfarm. The farm staff were busy herding sheep, repairing buildings, carrying waste and as we see here, ploughing the fields.

National Archives announcement made (UK)

Support and leadership for the UK’s archive sector will transfer to The National Archives (TNA) from April 2012 following the closure of the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA), Culture Minister Ed Vaizey announced today.

Full press release here

Public Digital Space

The BBC (and others) have big ideas about creating a Public Digital Space. In fact they have a PDS project.

To see how it's getting on, take a look here.

Photo of the day

A short stop-off at Talyllyn lake, at the foot of Cader Idris, to consume a sandwich with a view.

On reflection, a jolly good picnic spot.

BBC Media Hub

Working around the silo

BBC Studios and Post Productions have installed a new media hub, which integrates all file based post production workflows, including functions oft seen as archive-centred, such as digital archiving and restoration. In addition the hub provides global file delivery, transcoding, media storage, duplication, library digitisation and file-based quality check.

"This project also included the development of a custom control-system for automated, library digitisation. Developed by BBC Studios and Post Production's in-house team, this provides for managed ingest into a wide range of industry-standard formats, whilst integrating with their quality check and metadata management systems."

See the very interesting full news item here.

Sleepless IPR

How could one ever tire of IPR?

Don't stay awake worrying if you are within the law - here's something useful to do in those twilight hours - follow the JISC IPR and Licensing e-learning module. Once completed, your litigation worries will be over, and you'll sleep the night through.

Photo of the day

The photo is of Albertina in Wien.

On a trip to Vienna, a while back, I spent some hours trying to find the world's oldest sound archive, the Phonogrammarchiv (part of the Austrian Academy of Sciences). As I'd been there before, I was sure I could find it without a detailed map, but when I found myself, with aching feet, back where I'd started, I gave up and shuffled off to find the cinematheque / Austrian Film Museum (what a silly way to spend one's holiday). I found it eventually, just around the corner from where this photo was taken. Unfortunately, there wasn't much to see, except for a security guard and receptionist. There were film screenings, yes, but no artefacts on display.

I thought to myself, what a waste of a whole day - a holiday day at that, but as I wandered around the corner, all was salvaged by this glorious, regal view. I did take a snap of the outside of the film museum (a very nice, but rather unphotogenic door, as seen in this review - not my picture, note), but somehow this is the picture of Albertina which reminds me of the trek. And it's far less boring than a door.

Photo of the day

AIATSIS

Some years ago I spent a little time in Canberra, mainly to take a peek at the then Screensound Australia, now the National Film and Sound Archive. However, over the river, quite near the National Museum is AIATSIS - the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies. I'd been very impressed by Grace Koch (who ran the av archive) when I was secretary of IASA National Archives Committee, many moons ago, and learned a great deal from her about the complexities of archiving and trying to make available indigenous material. We in Europe tend to moan about the restrictions imposed upon us by IPR; well, that's nothing in comparison to the issues involved in archiving the memories of indigenous peoples.

The above link to AIATSIS takes you to the sound archives page, and there you'll find links to other indigenous collections in Australia.

I've recently been following @Indigeneity on Twitter, though rather disappointingly they never seem to tweet on Australian indigenous issues (mainly US and New Zealand).

Unfortunately AIATSIS was closed on the day of my visit, so I'll never know what it's like on the inside, I guess.

BLFI - or something like that

Two of the UK's big hitters The British Library (BL) and the British Film Institute (bfi) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding...

"Both organisations aim to explore areas such as: collecting policies; contributing to IPR and copyright discussions; metadata and resource discovery; how new digital technologies and enhanced physical spaces can improve access to film and television content; digital and paper conservation; exhibitions and public programmes; and how both institutions can offer services for the creative industries. More specific details will be developed at a strategic summit in early spring."

Full bumph here

h Library CEO, Dame Lynne Brindley, the MOU outlines key areas for joint strategic thinking, including public access, rights management and digitisation.

The BFI and the British Library have today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), with the objective of increasing public, professional and research access to audiovisual and broadcast content and integrating it with other knowledge collections.

Signed by BFI Director, Amanda Nevill and British Library CEO, Dame Lynne Brindley, the MOU outlines key areas for joint strategic thinking, including public access, rights management and digitisation.

The BFI and the British Library have today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), with the objective of increasing public, professional and research access to audiovisual and broadcast content and integrating it with other knowledge collections.

Signed by BFI Director, Amanda Nevill and British Library CEO, Dame Lynne Brindley, the MOU outlines key areas for joint strategic thinking, including public access, rights management and digitisation.

Raising the undead

Just when you thought that the issue of extending the copyright period of sound recordings had been impaled on a stake and was by now dead and buried, it has, under the Hungarian presidency of the EU, risen from its grave to haunt and terrorise our AV archives.

The latest instalments of this gripping saga of light against dark, of good against evil, of waking the dead, can be found here, you dare not read, but somehow your eyes are drawn...

With thanks to @dafyddtudur for the "heads up"

Hacking Europeana

Europeana has held a hackathon - getting developers to play with and re-use Europeana content.

Photo of the day

Disused lead mine, Ceredigion, mid Wales.
(copyright Iestyn Hughes)

Wales has seen more than its fair share of mining over the centuries. While people tend to associate the country with coal mining, iron and steel production, a variety of ores have been mined across the country since pre Roman times.

While south Wales is famous for its coal, Anglesey had one of the world's biggest copper mines (Mynydd Parys), north Wales its coal seams, and mid Wales its lead and silver mines.

Littered across mid west Wales are the remains of past mining adventures. Many are in what are now very remote and depopulated landscapes. Aberystwyth even had its own mint in times gone bye.

Not too far from the "industrian archaeology" site depicted here is the Llywernog Silver Lead Mining Museum. If you are ever in the area, please visit, if only for a glimpse of this now largely forgotten industry.

The future of the audiovisual industry

A conference on the future ofthe audiovisual industry will be held in Budapest 19 - 20 April.

A full programme can be downloaded here (.pdf).

Polish radio archive online

Of interest maybe to the Polish diaspora, Polish radio - Radia Wolnosci - including a large amount of archive material - is now available online.

Sarn Gynfelyn

Photo of the day
Sarn Gynfelyn, an outcrop of boulders stretching miles out to sea at Wallog, near Aberystwyth.
(copyright Iestyn Hughes)

The Sarn is associated with the the legend of Cantre'r Gwaelod, a long lost village, drowned by the sea when the keeper of the sluice gates, one Seithennyn, got rather drunk, and failed in his duty. The king, Gwyddno Garan Hir escaped to higher ground via the Sarn...

Paid content - Netherlands

Via CEG (thanks).

Ximon.nl, the new online streaming platform of the Dutch film
and TV heritage institutions, is being launched today April 7th.
Through the platform of Ximon well over 650 hours of high
quality feature films, documentaries and TV-drama is now
available to the public.

The earliest work dates from 1901 and the latest productions
were made in 2010. Prices start from 0.99 eurocents for a video
which can be easily paid online. Ximon’s platform automatically
adjusts the quality of the video stream, even up to full HD (1080p),
depending on the end-users’ bandwidth and local computerpower.
New features of the VOD-platform also include ‘collections’ that may
contain up to 40 video’s sharing a common theme (period, actor, city,
producer etc). Initiators EYE Film Institute Netherlands (Film)
and the Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision (TV) plan to
make their whole digitalized repository available through Ximon
in the next couple of years.

Website: (consumers); (institutions and business).

Read Ximon.nl presentation at the last meeting of the
Cinema Expert Group:

The People's War

Could you enrich this resource with your own documents?

First World War in everyday documents. A Europeana project.

.pdf here