In the last two weeks the results of two important surveys on the preservation situation of obsolete audiovisual carrier formats were published. The French Institut National de l’Audiovisuel (INA) published the results of a special survey about obsolete video formats in Europe, while UNESCO published the results of the Magnetic Tape Alert Project (MTAP) survey organised in collaboration with our colleagues of IASA. Both results reports are now listed on FIAT/IFTA’s #ArchivalReads series.

The INA survey focused specifically on mapping the preservation means and training needs present at European audiovisual archives. The aim is to provide an answer to the pressing urgency of digitising the most obsolete video tape formats in the form of a training course. 36 archives from 25 countries provided an answer. The survey was executed with the help of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and FIAT/IFTA.

Broader in scope and timing, the UNESCO Magnetic Tape Alert Project survey was launched in 2019 to obtain a global view on undigitised, preservation worthy audiovisual magnetic tape collections. The project was initiated within UNESCO’s Information for All Programme and coordinated by IASA, the International Association of Sound and Audiovisual Archives. The survey received 411 answers by 355 unique archives from 76 countries.