Riga Conference 2010

Conference Announcement

Baltic Audiovisual Archival Council
Annual Conference 2010

"Back to analogue: preserving audiovisual resources for digitisation and posterity"

BAAC annual conference takes place this year in Riga, Latvia, October 4-6, 2010.
We are returning to the birthplace of the original "Riga Seminar".

The Conference will be hosted by the Latvian Academic Library, with support from Latvian State Audiovisual Archives, Directorate General of the Latvian State Archives, the National Library of Latvia.

Libraries, museums, archives and other memory institutions are responsible for audiovisual collections that are part of our cultural heritage. In recent years, many local and international projects have focused on digitisation initiatives, creation of access to born digital and digitised content. However, issues related to safeguarding of analogue collections are not discussed so often. Good preservation practices for analogue carriers are very important, not least because there are many organisations which have limited resources for digitisation. Even large national institutions need to deal with maintenance of accumulated analogue assets.

This conference will provide a platform for the exchange of know-how and discussions regarding restoration, conservation and preservation of analogue audiovisual collections.  Experts in the field are expected to share their knowledge about best practices, methods and techniques. Professionals, who are more involved in digital activities, will learn more about the variety of analogue carriers, their formats, mechanical and chemical properties.

Major aspects to be discussed:
-    Analogue collection preservation - threats, challenges and risk management
-    Handling and storage - best practices
-    Documenting and cataloguing
-    Content description
-    Types and formats
 
The conference will be conducted in English.

Program Committee:
Juozas Markauskas
Gatis Karlsons
Zane Grosa
Ivi Tomingas

Conference Organizers:
Gatis Karlsons - General Directorate of Latvian State Archives
Juozas Markauskas - Dizi Heritage, Lithuania
Zane Grosa - National Library of Latvia
Reinis Grīgs - Latvian State Archives of Audiovisual Documents
Andris Ķesteris - Canada