Is Film Archiving a Profession?

Author(s): Ray Edmondson

Source: Film History, Vol. 7, No. 3, Film Preservation and Film Scholarship (Autumn, 1995),
pp. 245-255
Published by: Indiana University Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3815091 .
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 FilmHistory,
Volume7, pp. 245-255, 1995. Copyright
? JohnLibbey&Company
ISSN:0892-2160. PrintedinGreatBritain

Is film archiving
a
profession ?
RayEdmondson
As I was going up the stair ledge base - and whose membershiprequirements
I meta man who wasn'tthere help to define, quiteclearly,who is an accredited
He wasn'tthereagain today professionaland who is not. They also work to
Oh how I wish he'd go away ... advance the best interestsof the profession,and so
to determineits statusand credibilityin the
he professionof filmarchiving,it seems to help
eyes of governments,other professionsand the
me, is a bit likethe manwho wasn'tthere, These thingsmatterand so
of fond nurseryrhymeremembrance.Is it communitygenerally.
they are sought after and sometimes jealously
thereor not?Ifso, is it going to stop lurk-
ing in the shadows so we can all see it at last?Or guarded.
is it, likeAlice'sWonderland,reallyjusta stateof Bythisdefinition,too, librarians,museologists
and archivists- with theirrelateddisciplinesand
mind for those who like to call themselvesfilm
subsets- are professionals.Thisbringsus closerto
archivists?Always assuming, of course, that the
home, for these are what I termthe collectingpro-
questionmattersat all! fessions:people who look afterand deal withcol-
Ouresteemededitorhas asked me to address
lectionsand databases of knowledgeand cultural
some remarkson the topic, which meansit matters
materials- often, thoughnotalways, withcultural
to at least two people - and a good many more,
and non-commercialmotivation.Filmarchivists
fromall indications,as you will see. Of course, it
and their other audiovisual colleagues hang in
does beg the question- what is a profession?I
heresomewhere,and thisis where itgets tricky.
couldn'tanswer that in the space of one article,
Now before I get into the heavy stuff,let me
and the uses of the word are so wide as to makeit
makea couple of diversionarycomments:the car-
almostmeaningless,butfor thisdiscussionI could
toon and the shortsubjectbeforethe mainfeature,
hazard a definitionthat I thinkmost of us could
as it were.
relateto:
First(dimhouselights,WB trademarkzooms)
A profession is a field of remunerativework there'sa range of views about what we mean by
which involves universitylevel trainingand filmarchiving.Youknewwe had to get to thisone!
preparation,has a sense of vocationor long Are we talkingabout filmin the sense of cinema-
term commitment,involves distinctiveskills that is, principallyfictionfilms- or do we include
and expertise, worldview, standards and non-fictionas well?Or by filmdo we mean moving
ethics.Itimpliescontinuingdevelopmentof its image - and so include televisionand video or
defining knowledge base, and of its individ- CD-ROM?And in any case, does film archiving
ualpractitioners. stand by itselfor does it have a relationshipto the
Agreed?Thenread on anyway. Bythisdefini-
tion, suchpeople as doctorsof medicine,lawyers,
architects, engineers, scientists, schoolteachers Ray Edmondson1 is DeputyDirectorof the Na-
tional Filmand Sound Archiveof Australia.Corre-
and journalistsare professionals.Theymeet each
spondence to: NFSA, GPO Box 2002, Canberra,
requirementand they have professionalsocieties ACT 2601, Australia. e-mail Ray_Edmond-
which develop the shared standardsand know- son@nfsa.gov.au
246
246 Ray Edmondson

Fig. 1. A productionstillfromthe televisionseries TheAustralianImage.That'sthe authorholdinga

can of film.Thearchetyl filmarchivist,surroundedby racksgroaningwithpreciousreels, is now a
clichedimage. It'sbeen a usefuland definingpicture,thoughit suggestslittleaboutthe breadthand
depthof the profession.

archivingof sound, in its variousexpressions- in- the furphy3of assumingthataudiovisual(including

cludingradioand oral history?Ican't helpwonde-
ring what Daffy Duck might have done with that
scenario, butit is a seriousquestion.I'veneveryet
encountered- in the literature,in discussionwith
colleagues- a succinctand shareddefinitionof the
terms film archivingand film archivist.Although
they'rein everydayuse, they reallymean different
thingsto differentpeople. And muchthe same can
be said about audiovisualor AV archiving,sound
archiving,and televisionarchiving.I'veattempted
myown definition2forthe sake of discussion.
So let me putmyown cards on the table. I see
audiovisualarchivingas a coherent field with a
shared philosophicalbasis. Itis internallydiverse
and contains several definable areas. Filmarchi-
ving is one of these;in turn,it has itsown subsetsor
specialisms. My reasons for this view will be
cleareras you read on.
Secondly, (oe McDoakesmain title,dissolve
to So YouWantto be an Archivist)I want to avoid
film)archiving is automaticallyan aspect of the
archival profession,or archivism,as it presently
exists- and thereforenot a separate professionat
all. I have found this assumptionto be readily
made, and I guess it'snaturalsince the same word
is used forboth.
Butthe fact is that it's a semantic accident.
There's no ready-madeword, universallyunder-
stood, to describe institutionswhich preservemov-
ing images and sound recordings- or the people
that work therein. Archive is simply one of the
wordsappropriated,fromthe 1930s on, to do that
job, maybe because of its popularmeaning as a
place where old materialis kept.Thearchivalpro-
fession,for itsown purposes,observestoday some
veryprecisedefinitionsof the word archiveand its
derivatives.Theydon'tnecessarilyapplywithinthe
field of audiovisualarchiving. In some countries
they specificallydon't, for legal reasons.
OK then. (Logo.Drumroll. Dissolve to main
Is film archiving a profession?
titleI Wasa TeenageFilmRespooler,or Gone With
the Wind).So let'sreturnto the opening question-
is filmarchivinga profession?
Over the years some colleagues have ex-
pressedto me surprise,even offence, at thisques-
tion- and henceat the impliedsuggestionthatthey
were notprofessionals.Theywouldcite suchthings
as theirlengthof experience, theirdetailed know-
ledge of media historyor theirtechnicalspecializ-
ation, theirown standingamong theircolleagues,
their passion and commitmentto the field, their
career achievements, the standards of their
archive. None of this I could gainsay, and if simi-
larly challenged, I would probably respond in
muchthe same way. Of course they were profes-
sionals!
Yet, if so, it was (by my opening definition)a
professionseemingly lacking in some essentials.
You couldn'tanywhere find an agreed definition
of it. Therewere no permanent,universitylevel
trainingcourses or accreditationstandardsfor its
practitioners(people learned on the job). There
was no code of ethics.Theydid notseem to have a
professionalassociation. Some of its practitioners
saw themselvesas belongingto one or moreof the
othercollectingprofessions.Itdid not seem to be
includedin the pantheonof professionsformally
recognized and graded by governmentcivil ser-
vice employers. There was no formal base of
theorywhich served to define the profession,its
principlesand worldview.
Nor was the professionone whichyou tended
to quote on officialdocumentsor applications,un-
less you wanted to riskbeing asked to explain re-
peatedly what film archivist or sound archivist
meant.As one colleague recentlyremarkedto me,
itwas suddendeathat parties.(Ithas happenedto
me too. 'And what do you do'? 'I'ma filmarchi-
vist'. Longpause, followed either by [a] remarks
about the weather, or [b] the question 'what's
that'?,or [c] the observation'Gee, it mustbe great
to spend all day lookingat movies').
Conversely,othermarksof a professionwere
clearlyin evidence. Thecommitment,passionand
sense of vocationwere obvious and often striking
in their evangelistic fervour:these were people
who believed deeply in the worth of what they
were doing, and were notdauntedin thatbeliefby
lack of resourcesor formalrecognition.The spe-
247
cialized skillsand knowledge base, and the ac-
companyingjargon and concepts, were obvious
enough. Thefield has accumulatedand maintains
a now sizeable literaturewhich includesbothperi-
odicals and monographs.There have for some
time been 'summerschools' and otherdevices for
at least partiallyredressingthe dearth of formal
training- one consequenceof thefactthatthe num-
berof practitioners are few relativeto their'cousin'
collectingprofessions.International federationsof
film, sound and televisionarchives are growing
and are effective in promotingthe interestsand
identityof theirfields.
So far,so good, one mightsay. Isn'titenough
to justget on withthe job? Filmarchivesface huge
preservation,cataloguingand access tasks, now
thatwe have the newer problemsof vinegar syn-
dromeadded to theold problemsof nitrate.Which
won't wait! Can't we leave the theorizing until
we've got leisureto worryabout it? Does it really
matterwhetheranyone wants to recognize it as a
professionor not?We have enough reallyurgent
thingsto occupy ourfullattentionnow!
There's no doubt that such sentimentsare
widely held across the audiovisual archiving
world.Collectivelywe do have an urgentjob, and
we're doing it with insufficientresources- some-
timeshopelesslyinsufficient. We are used to teach-
ing new staffon the job- that'show we learned,of
course. Yes, our internationalforumsare institu-
tion-orientedbodies ratherthantraditional'profes-
sionalassociations'because they'veneeded to be
- in our world we have to functionas partsof or-
ganizationsratherthan justas individuals.
So addressingquestionsof philosophy,theory
and professional recognition has not been a
priorityin our field. Untilrecentyears, it attracted
littlediscussion. The burgeoningprofessionallit-
eraturehas concentratedon the practicalrather
than the theoretical- the 'how to' ratherthan the
'why'- for which there has been an obviousand
urgentneed. Butthe theoryhas neverthelesslurked
in the background,surfacingwhen topics likecol-
lection building are discussed. (As collections
grow, you sooneror laterhave to ask whyyou are
keepingthisor thatitem).
And ithas always been theconcernof individ-
ualswho, in archivesperhapsless securelyplaced
than most, have had to constantlyargue fromfirst
248
248 Ray
Ray Edmondson

Fig.2. FilmarchivistII- whata great job, spendingall day lookingat movies!Anotherdefining

image,witha truebutmisleadingimplication.Filmcataloguingis a professionaldisciplinerequiring
bothtrainingand expertsubjectknowledge.Itdiffersin important ways fromgenericbook
cataloguing,thoughit requiresthe same attentionto logic, precisionand consistency.

principlesto defend and advance theirwork.Even archiveand sound archive is being joined by, or
today, as we celebrate the centenaryof cinema, sometimes turninginto, the multi-mediaarchive.
the rationalethat film is worth preservingto the Theinternationalfederationshave begunto review
same extentas otherculturalmaterialsis notuniver- their roles and their futures8.We are becoming
sallyaccepted - noris itobserved in practice. more aware of the need to get back to firstprin-
As audiovisualarchivingenteredthe 1990s, ciples, and to step backand takea longerstrategic
these subliminalconcerns have found more or- view of ourfuture.
ganized and overtexpression.Thefederationjour- ButI suspectthe mainreason is simplythatit's
nals and conferences have begun to open up an issuewhose timehas come anyway. Individuals
theoreticalissues. UNESCOpublications5emanat- who for many years have felt uneasy about our
ing fromAVarchivists'think-tanks have stimulatedill-definedtheoreticalfoundations,or our lack of
it. An informal,internationalmail network6linking identityand status, and our inadequate training
people interestedin philosophicalissues has been structureshave, one by one, begun to express
established,leading in turnto the writer'sprepara- themselves.Ifthat'sthe case, I see it as a sign of
tion, last year, of a first,partialdraftof a theoreti-
maturity-a transition,perhaps,fromthe 'pioneer-
cal base for the profession- A Philosophyof AV ing' phase to the 'established' phase. No, it
Archiving - Draft One7. doesn't mean the world's film archivistsare sud-
Istherea reason forthismovement?Certainly denly going to become philosophersor get hung
the landscape for audiovisualarchivesof all kinds up about theirprofessionalstatusand recognition.
is less predictablethan it once was, as technologi- It'sa quieterthing that will happen in the back-
cal change brings the image and sound media ground.We all have archivesto runand jobsto do
closer togetherand the divisionbetween celluloid and we feel guiltyifwe spend too muchtimenavel
and electronicimages is, to coin a phrase, more gazing.
blurred than it used to be. The traditionalfilm So - is filmarchivinga profession?Myview is
Is film archiving a profession?
- yes and no! The essentialqualitieswhich make
audiovisualarchiving(of which film archivingis
one manifestation) a professionin itsown rightare
already there, inherentin the field and its practi-
tioners.What are stillmissingare the visiblestruc-
tures and manifestationswhich are needed to
affirmthisfact.
(Intermission.Lightsdim. Screen masking
draws back to accommodate Technicolor,Vista-
Visionimage of broad, sunlituplands.Yearshave
passed. Thefilmrespooler,MagentaO'Hara,now
an experiencedfilmarchivist,looksoutwistfullyon
the morningas the mistdissolves.)
Let'sturnnow to some of these 'missinglinks'
and considerthem.
First,there'sthe need to map out the territory
in a coherentway - a professionneeds to be able
to define its coverage and its characterso that its
claimscan be made manifest.Thismeans it is then
available to be understood- and evaluated- by
others. For audiovisual archiving, I believe this
meansseveralthings:
* Definingkey conceptswhich give shape to
the field;
* Discerningits distinctives- its uniqueview-
pointor paradigm,itsdefiningprinciples;
* Codifyingitsvalues,assumptions,concepts,
jargonand culture.
It means getting this into some writtenform
that helps discussion, and in doing so taking a
descriptiveratherthanprescriptiveapproach.This
is important.Based on long experience, many of
the issues have been spelt out and explored, indi-
viduallyor incidentally,in numeroustalks,articles
and manualsover manyyears. What has not yet
happened is the drawingtogetherof these insights
intoan organized synthesis.Theprojecton which
my colleagues and I were engaged last year was
an initialattemptto do this.
In the course of it, some key concepts have
been developed as a way of anchoringdiscussion
in recognisableterritory.Theseare the draftdefini-
tions of AV media, AV heritage,AV archiveand
AV archivist9and they are footnoted. They are
best read in context,of course, buttheyare also, I
hope, reasonablyself explanatory:the what and
who of the profession,organizationallyand indi-
249
vidually.They are not easy to define - which is
perhapswhy it hasn'tall been done long ago - but
they mustbe defined now if the currentmovement
is to have realvalue.
You'llnotethatI'veused the termAV- notfilm
- because that expresses the foundationassump-
tion thatthe essentialreferencepointsare equally
valid for film, radio, televisionand sound recor-
dings. (You mighttry substitutingfilm for AV in
each definitionand see if it stillringstrueforyou.)
Moving on from these definitions, one can
then explore the 'distinctives'- the values, con-
cepts or assumptions,the way of lookingat things,
thatgive the field itsuniqueidentityand character.
Thereseems to be a surprisingnumberof them:
some uniqueto AVarchiving,some sharedwiththe
other 'collecting' professions (such as librarian-
ship, museologyand archivism)thoughwithdiffer-
ent emphasisor perspective.Again, I recommend
thatyou readthemin contextand in toto, butletme
here highlighta couple.
One is the basic notion that the skills, con-
cepts, methods,systemsand ethicsof AVarchiving
(inthiscase, filmarchiving)arise fromthe natureof
the AV media, not by automaticanalogy fromthe
othercollectingprofessions.Now, thatmaysound
like self-evidentcommonsense. The realityis that
an amazing numberof AVarchivesuse, and often
findthemselvesconfinedby, systemstransplanted
by analogy. This leads to great diversityof ap-
proach, and non-standardization, within the AV
archivingcommunity.
Infieldslikecollectionmanagement,preserva-
tion practice,cataloguingand selection,manyAV
archiveshave learnedby trialand errorto adopt
what is usefulfromtheircousinprofessions,give it
a differenttwistwhereappropriate,or inventsome-
thingfromfirstprincipleswhere necessary.Iffilmis
the synthesisof the arts, its archivingis likewisea
synthesisof manydisciplines- witha large modi-
cumof originalthinking.
Foranother,considerthe way in whichdiffer-
ent sortsof institutionapproachAV materialswith
differentworldviews.Dependingon theirpolicies
and ideology, a particulardocumentaryfilmmight
be to one an importanthistoricaldocument,to an-
otheran informationresource,to a thirda workof
art,to a fourth,a piece of entertainment, to a fifth,
a recordof corporateactivity.Eachmaycatalogue
250
250
Fig.3. Launchedin 1980, Australia'sTheLastFilmSearch'typifiedthe fervourof archiviststo get out
and save thevanishingfilmheritage,and to raisepublicawarenessthat'nitratewon'twaif. Itproved
highlyeffectiveon boh scores.
and controlit in differentways, highlightingthat
aspect of the filmwhich is deemed importantfrom
theirinstitutionalparadigmor worldview.
Allof themare right,of course, as far as they
go. Butthe AVarchive,uniquely,is in a positionto
view the hypotheticalfilmin its own rightand not
as an aspect of somethingelse. Itcan see the film
primarilyas a filmwhich is all of these different
things,and more, at the same time,and organize
itself around that fact. The character of the AV
mediaand its productsare the firstreferencepoint
forAVarchives:justas, centuriesago, the charac-
ter of the printedbook, as a phenomenon,gave
riseto librariesas we now knowthem.It'san affir-
mationthatthe AV media have - or shouldhave -
the same culturalstatusas theirolder cousins.
And the jargon?I have to admitthatarchive-
speak is notquiteas trendyor euphoniousas com-
puter-speak,butitdoes abound in acronyms(FIAF,
FIAT,SMPTE, IASA,ICA,IAMHIST, TCC,JTS,IFLA,
ICOM, NFSA, UCLA,NFTVA... enough?) and
concepts(preservation copy, dupingcopy, carrier,
work, accessioning, cataloguing, filmography,
leader, documentation, restoration, reconstruc-
tion, pre-cinema...). Cataloguers,access and ac-
quisitionofficershave to be adept exponentsof the
extensive terminologyof the AV industries.Like-
wise, technicaljargon- old, new, borrowedand
Ray
Ray Edmondson
blue- is second natureand includesmuchcreated
withinAV archives; my own institutionis not the
onlyone thatneeds an in-housedictionaryof these
alone! I, forone, am used to conversations- espe-
cially technicalones - conductedin a bizarre,but
veryprecise, shorthandthatwould be totallymysti-
fyingto the casual listener.
Let'snow turnbrieflyto ethics and principles.
Ethicalbehaviour- adherenceto prescribedstand-
ards of honesty, integrityand professionalcom-
petence- is fundamentalto a professionalperson.
Their institutionsand professional societies typi-
cally have writtencodes of ethics which are often
bindingon theirmembers.Thecodes of the collect-
ing professionsalso deal with personal relation-
ships and the proprietiesof handling collection
material.All of this is, in principle,shared by the
world of AV archiving, and some archives have
theirown codes. Theconstitutionsand rulesof the
federationscontain both implicitand explicitethi-
cal requirements.Yetthereis no agreed, universal
professionalcode of ethicsin a synthesizedform.
Thisis all the moreinterestingbecause, in my
experience, AV archivistsare typicallypeople of
high integritywho are frequentlycalled on to make
difficultethical judgements.Theyare aware how
heavilytheircredibilityrestson the trustof others,
and how easily that trustcan be damaged. They
Is film archiving
archiving a profession?
pro fession?
livewiththedangersof conflict-of-interest and com-
mercialconfidentialitythatare characteristicof the
AVfield. Theyhave to reconcilethe shiftingwhims
of an employeror superiorauthoritywiththe long
termneeds, as they may perceiveit, of the survival
of the heritage.
Thevery natureof the AV media gives rise to
peculiarethicalissues.Forexample,when a filmis
copied for preservationfroma deterioratingbase
to a new one, the process- howeverscientificor
exact- always involvessubjectiveartisticand tech-
nical choices in which the manipulationor loss of
some of the image and soniccontentare available
options. The loss of screen or sound qualityis in
effect the loss of information- the equivalentof
removingvitalpages froma book. So it is open to
theAVarchivistto falsifyhistory- eitheractivelyor
passively - and one can visualize situationsin
which archivistsmay be underpressureto do just
that. Evendocumentingthe choices made in the
copying process- the equivalentof maintaininga
detailedtechnicalaudittrail- is an ethicalissue.
At the otherend of the equation, the presen-
ting of old materialfrom archives to new audi-
ences, or the reconstruction of 'new'versionsof old
filmsfromfragmentedsources,exemplifiesyet an-
otherspectrumof ethicalissues,in whichthe archi-
vist is confrontedwith a whole raftof possibilities
and temptations.Activitiesin this field are bur-
geoning, yet thereis no international code of prac-
tice to guide it. At least, notyet.
Finally,for the AV archivistthere is a highly
personaldimensionto the ethics of managingex-
ternalrelationships,which mattersin a fieldwhere
so much depends on personal negotiation and
trust.Ican best illustratethisby posinga hypotheti-
cal example.
Basil is a passionate film collector. He got
hooked on it in childhood, when he used to
hang aroundtheprojectionboothat the local
cinema. Thesedays he has a large collection,
which fills most of his garage and a back
roomof his house. He has a full35 mmplant
set up in his garage, which doubles as a pri-
vate cinema. He delights in showing gems
fromhis collectionto visitorsand fellowcollec-
tors,and his knowledgeof filmis immense.
Many of us know and value the Basilsof our
ImetBasilseveralyears ago througha mutual world,the people whose privateinterestand alert-
251
251
friend- also a collector- and thoughat first
he was cautiousabout being too forthcoming
with someone froma governmentinstitution,
we developed a good relationship.Over the
years he donatedquitea lotof materialto our
archive,and lentsome of his nitrategems for
copying. He had an uncannyabilityfor find-
ing importantmaterial in the most unlikely
places, and his contribution
to buildingup our
nationalcollectionhas been quitesignificant.
He'sgettingon inyears, and is now startingto
worryaboutwhat willhappen to his personal
collectionwhen he dies. Thereare no family
memberswho are interested,thoughmanyof
his fellowcollectorscertainlyare.
As an AV archivist,and one who influences
selection/acquisitiondecisions for my institu-
tion, I'vebeen scrupulousaboutneverbecom-
ing a film collector myself. I've found it
difficult,sometimes, to politely refuse when
Basilhas offeredme theodd posteror artefact
as a personalgift. Ourrelationshiphas been
builton the fact that,while we share an inter-
est in things filmic, I'm firstand foremosta
representativeof my institution.
NeverthelessI knowthatBasil,who has a dis-
trustof institutionsand legalities but relates
stronglyto people, trustsour archivebecause
he finds in me a kindredspirit.Our relation-
ship can't be bureaucratizedor formalized:I
can't hide behind the letterof the law. Every
gift of film,every copying agreement,carries
withit a non-specific,and unspoken,expecta-
tionthatI willhenceforthkeep a personaleye
on thewellbeing of whathe's provided.Noth-
ing Ican say or do willchange this.He has put
so muchof himselfintoassemblinghis collec-
tion. I have asked him,forthe publicgood, to
open up his privateworld.I earn my livingby
building a collection: he spends his living
doing the same thing.
I feel a moralobligationto Basil.I have a duty
to myemployer,whomI can seek to influence
butcannotcontrol.Thetwo obligationswon't
always coincide. YetI can avoid neither.
252
252 Ray
Ray Edmondson
Edmondson

Fig.4. Anotherclassicimage- the reelof rottingnitrate.Stillcentralto filmarchives,it is todaypartof

a muchmorecomplexmessage:filmand tape decay in a varietyof ways, and theircopyingand
restorationcan involvea hostof photographicand electronicoptions.And thenthere'stechnological
change:a decade fromnow, willthe traditionalfilmstripstillbe centralto cinema?
ness has saved so muchfromdestruction,passing cation in AVarchivingfroma universitythatwould
theirmaterialto institutionslikeourswho have the have internationalacceptance"1.Equally,there is
preservationresourceswhichtheydo nothave. But no professionalsociety that can 'accredit'you in
we live withthe moraland ethicaldilemmasof our the field. Untilthese limitationsare overcome, it's
situation. We will always have to make value difficultto gain recognitionas a profession.
judgementsin managingsuchrelationships-there The issue is recognized and is being ad-
can never be a 'rulebook' for all situations- and dressed'2. By its nature,it doesn't admit of quick
accepting responsibilityfor makingvalue judge- solutions.Butuntilit is, AV archivismfaces a kind
mentsis, in myview, one of the marksof a profes- of chicken-and-eggand situation.Thebest place to
sionalperson.Allof us - Basilincluded- would be inculcate a code of ethics, the principles and
on surerground in handling them with a formal worldviewof a professionalphilosophyis in a for-
code of ethics which clearly set out values and mal course. Butit's hard to establisha course un-
obligations.IfAVarchiviststhemselvesdon't know less you have a structured professional
what their values are, they can't expect anyone marketplaceto receive its graduates. Nor do civil
else to. servicestructures tend to recognize professionsun-
Thenextmajorarea is thatof training. less there are formal qualificationson which to
Audiovisualarchivistsare a diverselot. Some base such recognition.
have formaltrainingand accreditationin one or Whatwouldformaltraininggive AVarchivists
moreof the collectingprofessions'?;othersin tech- that they couldn'tget fromtrainingin one of the
nical or scientificdisciplines.Some have none at establishedcollectingdisciplines? Certainlythere
all. What we all have in commonis thatwe learned would be areas of overlapwhichcould usefullybe
AVarchivingon the job. Therewas no otherway. sharedwith those disciplines- the craftof catalo-
Therestillisn't. guing, for instance.Butthereare otherswhichare
Thismeans thatyou can't get a formalqualifi- distinctiveand defining.
Is film archiving
archiving a profession?
profession?
Forexample:
* Historyof the AV media
* Historyof AVarchiving
* Terminologyand concepts
* Standards
* Institutional
structures
* Technicalexpertise
Technicalexpertise?Yes, of course. We are
dealing withmediawhichare technologicalin na-
ture- theycan't be perceivedwithoutthe interpola-
tion of a technical device - so all AV archivists
need basic technicaltraining,whetheror not this
will be theirfuturespecialization.
As filmarchivistsknow fromexperience,you
can learna great deal on the job which no formal
coursecan ever teach. Butthe disciplineof under-
taking a structuredcourse means that ground is
covered in an organizedand comprehensiveway,
and theoryas well as practiceis dealt with. Italso
means that everyone starts from a common de-
nominator- a knownknowledge base - which is
importantfor both employer and client expecta-
tions.
Finally,let us consider some aspects of the
way ahead.
We have grown out of the traditionsof libra-
rianship,museologyand archivism.We draw on
all of them, and need to have their recognition,
goodwill and support.Thatmeans, I believe, dis-
cussion, explanationand debate - exposing the
sortsof ideas thatthis paper has alreadycovered
to theirpointsof view. Cooperationin formaltrain-
ing is a potentialarea of mutualsupport.
Butitwilltaketimeto establishformaltraining
and pursuedebate withthewiderworld.As profes-
sionalswe need to do some internalworkas well.
The discussion process representedby AVAPIN
needs to continueand widen. Thedraftdocument
resultingfromthe 1994 exercise needs to be the
beginning,nottheend, of a process.Itcan provide
a focus and startingpointfor furtherwork, which
shouldbegin formallyto involvethe federations.A
philosophy,no matterhow elegant, will have little
effectunlessit has theirinvolvementand support.
A professionneeds a professionalforumor
forums;structureswhich have the authorityand
standingto accreditthose individualswho practice
the profession,to assess and expressa view on the
253
253
available trainingcourses, to providea forumfor
membersof the professionin exploringand deal-
ing with mattersof ethics, expertiseand principle.
Whetherany the presentfederationsor national
organizationsof audiovisualarchivistsis in a posi-
tion to fill this role is, I think,a matteropen to
discussion.Iam not proposinga solutionbutident-
ifyinga need which I thinkwill need to be met.
And so we lookto tomorrow...
Thereis littlepoint in dressingup a group of
skillsor interestsas a 'profession'simplyfor the
sake of presentation. The world probably has
enoughof thatsortof thingalready.
Butthere is every reason to recognize reality
when the time has come to do so. Alhoughwe're
still a frontierfield, the age of the firstfilm and
sound archivepioneersis past. We AV archivists
of the second or thirdgeneration have our own
responsibilityboth to the past and to the future.
Everything we and our predecessorshave worked
for, and all thatwe hold in trust,will be best pro-
tected if surroundedby appropriatevalues and
perceptionsof ourown devising.We need a more
formaland obviousframeworkthanwe've had in
the past to enable ourfield to grow properly.We
owe it to ourselvesto get ourvaluesand reference
pointsstraightfor all to see. We owe it to our suc-
cessors to bequeath to them the best grounding
and structuresthatwe can. Ifwe don't knowthat
we're professionals,withveryclear perceptionsof
our self-imageand our values, we can hardlyex-
pect anyone else to know.
(Magentastandssilhouettedagainsta specta-
cularsunsetthe filmcan in her hand glintingwith
fire in the fading light. Themusicswells as the ca-
mera draws back and she declares 'Itseems like
only yesterdaywe were calling today tomorrow,
and tomorrowis another day. [Pause] ... who
wrotethisscript'?
Irisin. DaffyDuckappears in bottomlefthand
corner:'I'dlike to tell her - but modestyforbids'.
Fade to black. Animatedend title reveals 'That's
notall, folks...')
As I was going up the stair
I meta professionthatwasn'tthere
Itwasn'tthereagain today
Itlookslikeit won'tgo away ...
254
Notes
1. RayEdmondsonis DeputyDirectorof the National
Filmand SoundArchiveof Australia.A graduatein
arts and librarianship,he has for 27 years been
involvedin the developmentof filmand, later,also
soundarchivingin Australiaand beyond. He has
writtenand spokenextensivelyin this field. He is
active in FIAFand IASA,and contributesto the
forumsof thecollectingprofessionsinAustraliaand
overseas. During 1994, with the supportof an
AustralianPublicServiceCommissionFellowship,
he spenta periodin EuropewritingA philosophy
ofAudiovisualArchiving - DraftOne inconcertwith
distinguishedEuropeancolleagues.Hecoordinates
the international
AudioVisualArchivingPhilosophy
InterestNetwork(AVAPIN).
2. Ray Edmondson,A Philosophyof Audiovisual
Archiving- DraftOne, 1994.
3. A usefulAustralianexpressionmeaninga diversion
or a misleadingtale.
4. Thejournalsof IASA,FIAFandICAhavecollectively
publishedpapers,articlesandcorrespondence.De-
bate has been longestand strongestin the IASA
Journal.
5. UNESCO,Curriculum Development fortheTraining
of PersonnelinMovingImageand RecordedSound
Archives(Paris,1990) and UNESCO,LegalQues-
tionsFacingAudiovisualArchives(Paris,1991).
6. Thisis AVAPIN(see footnote1) which the writer
coordinatesfrom the National Film and Sound
Archive,Canberra.
7. Thisdraftprovideda focusfordiscussionon philos-
ophyat the 1994 IASA/FIAT conferencein Bogen-
see and led to Draft Two, 1995. Copies are
availablefromthewriter.
8. CurrentlyIASAmembersare votingon a constitu-
tionalchangewhichwould broadenits focusfrom
federation.At its 1994
a 'sound'to an 'audiovisual'
congress,FIAFbegan reviewingits own futuredi-
rection,a process which will continueat future
congresses.
9. Thefollowingare editedextractsfromA Philosophy
of AV Archiving- DraftOne whichset out some
proposeddefinitionsof these concepts.To be fully
understoodthey should be read in context,with
their respectivefootnotes,in that document.This,
however, will give the flavour- and show the
difficulty- of constructing
definitions.
3.2 Definitionof AV media
AV media are works comprisingimages or
soundsor both,whose
I Edmondson
Ray
* recordingand/or transmission,and usually
whoseperceptionand comprehension,requires
the interpolation
of a technologicaldevice
* contentis a reproductionof a visualand/or
auditoryentity,producedand perceivedover a
given amountof time
* purposeis thecommunicationof thatvisualand
auditorycontent,ratherthanthe use of the tech-
nologypurelyto communicate textualor graphic
information.
3.2.4 Acceptingthe likelihoodthata sharpde-
finitionis impossible,this definitionis meantto
decisively include conventional sound recor-
dings, movingimages (soundor silent),videos
and broadcastprogrammes,bothpublishedand
unpublished,in all formats.It is meantto deci-
sivelyexcludetextmaterialper se, regardlessof
the mediumused (whetherpaper, microform,
digital formats,graphics or projectionslides,
etc.). The distinctionis conceptualratherthan
technological,althoughto a largeextenta tech-
nologicaldivideexistsas well.
3.2.5 Sitting between these two groups, of
course,is a spectrumof materialswhichare less
automatically the preoccupationof AV archives
and which,dependingon yourperception,may
or may notfullymeettheabove definition.These
materials include video games, multi-media,
pianorollsand mechanicalmusic,and thetradi-
tionaltape-slide'audiovisual'.Theyalso include
stillphotographs,whichmanywouldregardas
an AV medium,whetherthe photographsare
collectedintheirownright,oras materialrelating
to the AV media.
3.3 Definitionof AV heritage
3.3.1 TheAV media,as definedabove, may be
perceivedas the core of a largerrange of ma-
terial and information collected and com-
prehendedby AV archivesand archivists.This
largerrange is the AV heritage.Thefollowing
definitionis proposed:
TheAVheritageincludes,butis notlimitedto, the
following:
(a) Recordedsound,radio,film,television,video
or otherproductionscomprisingmovingimages
and/or recordedsounds,whetheror notprimar-
ily intendedforpublicrelease.
(b) Objects, materials,works and intangibles
relatingto the AV media, whetherseen froma
technical,industrial,cultural,historicalor other
viewpoint;thisshall includematerialrelatingto
the film,broadcastingand recordingindustries,
suchas literature,scripts,stills,posters,advertis-
Isfilmarchivinga profession?
and artefactssuchas
ing materials,manuscripts,
technicalequipmentor costumes.
(c)Conceptssuchas theperpetuationof obsoles-
associatedwiththe
cent skillsand environments
reproduction and presentationof thesemedia.
3.3.2 Clearly,fromthisdefinition,the AV herit-
age includesboth text materialand the 'in be-
tween'materialsmentionedabove, amongother
things,whichrelateto theAV media.
For example, scriptsare part of the heritage
because they are scriptsof radio or TV pro-
grammesor films:not because they are scripts
per se.
3.3.3 It follows that most, if not all, archives
would define theirscope by placing theirown
perspectiveon sucha definition- for example,
froma subject,geographicalor otherviewpoint.
3.4 Definitionof AVarchive
3.4.1 Thereis no succinctdefinitionof an AV
of FIAT,
archivein generaluse. Theconstitutions
FIAF and IASAdescribemanycharacteristics and
of such bodies as members, but
expectations
provideno such definitionfor the institutional
type itself.
3.4.2 Theuse of the term'archive',singularor
plural,while commonparlance,it itselfproble-
matic because of its multipleassociations.In
popularparlance,it has wide and non-specific
connotationsas a place where 'old'or non-cur-
rentmaterialsare kept.Withinthe professionof
archivalscience, however,it has come to have
quite preciseprofessionaland legal meanings.
Whenco-optedby the firstAV archivesit prob-
ably had the formerassociation;now it often
connotesboth,accuratelyor otherwise.Lacinga
uniqueinternationallabel which could readily
definethenas institutional
type,AVarchiveshave
resortedto a range of labels, includingphono- 10.
theque,cinematheque,videotheque,museumor
library.However,since the word 'archive'is
embeddedin the titlesof IASA,FIAT
historically
and FIAF,the termAV archiveseems to be the 11.
closestmatchwhichcan be presentlyachieved.
3.4.3 The followingdefinitionis thereforepro-
posed:
AnAV archiveis an organizationor department 12.
of an organizationwhichis focusedon collecting,
managing,preservingandprovidingaccess to a
collectionof AV mediaand theAV heritage.
3.4.4 Thekeyaspectsare (a) thatan AVarchive
is an organization- i.e. nota privateindividual
or collection(b) thatcollecting/managing/pres-
255
erving/providingaccess to AV mediais itsfocus
- i.e. notjustone incidentalactivityamongmany.
3.4.5 Thetypologyof AV archives(see section
C)showsthatwithinthisdefinitionthereare many
types and emphases. For example, some AV
archivesconcentrateon individualmedia- such
as film, radio, television,sound recordings-
while otherscover severalmedia. Again, some
covera wide range of contentwhileothersare
highly focused or specialized in their subject
interest.
3.5 Definitionof AVarchivist
3.5.1 While terms like 'filmarchivist','sound
archivist'and 'AVarchivist'are in commonuse
in the fieldand its literature,thereappearto be
no agreed definitionsof thesetermsadoptedby
the Federations,or UNESCO,or indeedattract-
ing a consensusamongthe practitioners. Tradi-
tionally,theyare subjectiveand flexibleconcepts
whichevidentlymeandifferentthingsto different
people:a statementof personalidentityor per-
ception,ratherthana formalqualification.
3.5.2 Further, and unlikethesisterfieldsof libra-
rianship,museologyand archivalscience,there
is littlein the way of formaltraining,and no
internationally acceptedformalqualificationor
accreditation,by whichone may be profession-
ally recognized as an 'AV archivist'.Recom-
mendedtrainingstandardshave been devised
but, at this stage, are far from practicalim-
plementation.
3.5.3 Against this background,the following
definitionis proposed:
AnAVarchivistis a personoccupiedat a profes-
sional level with the managementof an AV
archive,the developmentor preservationof its
collections,or the servingof itsclientele.
archivalscience,museologyand re-
Librarianship,
latedfields.University
levelscoursesin thesefields
are availablearoundtheworld.
Thereare university
coursesin media,filmandeven
one infilmarchiving.Iam notawareof anycourses,
however,that have yet establishedthemselvesas
key referencepointsforthe profession.
A workingpartyunderthesponsorshipof UNESCO
is pursuingthe developmentof a curriculum and
relatedissues.Thefederationshave trainingcom-
missionsor workingpartiesalso concernedwith
thesematters.Thereaderis referredto theUNESCO
publicationCurriculumDevelopmentforthe Train-
ing of Personnelin MovingImageand Recorded
SoundArchives(Paris,1990).