The National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth has launched a new initiative to strengthen the technical expertise of its Screen and Sound Archive team and advance the preservation of Wales’s audio-visual heritage.
Thanks to vital support from BFI National Lottery: Screen Heritage Organisational Skills Fund, the Film Skills for the Future project will provide targeted training in film handling, inspection, digitisation and post-production.
The aim is to cultivate an agile, skilled and adaptable workforce capable of meeting the growing challenges of audio-visual preservation.
Delivered through structured internal workshops and hands-on mentoring, Film Skills for the Future will promote effective knowledge transfer and practical skills development.
This will ensure that the Screen and Sound Archive technical team is equipped to deliver a range of high-quality services to protect the nation’s audio-visual heritage.
A key project output will be the creation of publicly accessible documentation detailing best practice for the digitisation of historic film collections. This resource will be shared widely, supporting other heritage and archival organisations in adopting effective preservation strategies.
Scott Waby, the National Library of Wale’ head of collections care, said: “We’re very pleased to receive this support from the BFI and National Lottery to undertake this new and exciting initiative.
“Not only will enable it us to safeguard and develop essential specialist skills at the library but also allow us to share skills and knowledge with other organisations and the public, so that Wales’ audio-visual heritage is preserved for future generations.”
To broaden its impact, the project will also host three seminars for staff from heritage organisations across Wales, members of the public with an interest in film preservation and students specialising in archives, libraries and related disciplines.
These outreach activities will foster knowledge-sharing, extend specialist expertise across the sector and promote wider public engagement with audio-visual heritage.
The first event is on December 2 with a full day of activities that include introducing treasures in the film collection, showing how archive footage is cared for and digitised and seeing first-hand the equipment and techniques used to preserve Wales’ moving image heritage.
To book a ticket, go to https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/llgcnlw/evt-GpoWA0eO6jnVRLPN .
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