Dear BISA members and list-subscribers,
I'd like to ask for your advice on a project which may hopefully prove be of some interest or use to BISA. (Some of you may remember me from my attendance of the wonderful conferences in Dublin and Belfast - since then I've neglected BISA a little, due to being so busy with academic commitments, sorry to say!)
I have been employed by Bournemouth University as a part-time freelance researcher/consultant to co-author (with Dr. Kristin Skoog, a lecturer in radio history at BU) a short report on radio archives/collections in the UK. We have begun a brainstorming process in the last couple of weeks, and are fortunate to have the assistance in this process of Paul Wilson, the British Library's Curator of Radio.
The idea is that the report will identify issues of concern or interest to the archive community, to broadcasting organizations, and to the research/HE community. There will then be a (small-scale) 'summit' at the British Library in September, in which representatives from various institutions and organizations will be invited to discuss their priorities in this area, the report's tentative findings, and possible future courses of action or ways of working in partnership.
Kristin and I have decided to send out some surveys to various e-mail lists about radio collections/archives, but we would specifically like to ask BISA members and list-subscribers if they have any advice on *the kind of questions we should be asking* - what we should be looking to find out, as well as how to go about this. Of course if BISA members know of any articles or reports on this subject we would be very grateful to have the details. The report will be far more of a snapshot of the current landscape than any kind of comprehensive survey, but we would like to adress the following areas:
1) What is currently being archived by broadcasting institutions and what is being lost? A particular concern of ours here is the community radio sector, who we would like to work with.
2) What are the key issues regarding preservation and access within the larger archive community (including record offices and regional sound archives)?
3) How we can promote the historical/cultural importance of radio to - and how to improve access for - the research/education community.
In due course we will send a survey to BISA to gather data about radio collections, but at this point we would very much appreciate any feedback on the wider issues, whether on- or off-list.
Many thanks in advance for your input and help, which will, of course, receive proper credit in the report!
Best Wishes,
Dr. Ieuan Franklin.
Research Assistant (University of Portsmouth)
& Freelance consultant (University of Bournemouth).
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