Audiovisual archives worldwide are in the process of migrating their audio and video materials to large scale file based storage systems. Analogue material is digitized and digital material is converted into files when necessary and transferred to a large-scale storage infrastructure. If these processes are carried out by an external partner, it is crucial that the assignment is properly described and that this partner is selected according to a clear, transparent and effective procedure.

The FIAT/IFTA Preservation and Migration Commission (PMC) has been working since 2017 on the ‘Guide to Compose Tendering Specifications for the Outsourced Migration of Audiovisual Content’, abbreviated to ‘Outsourced Migration Guide’. This set of documents has the ambition to help any organization planning a migration project with the help of a third party to write a solid and complete tender specification.

As announced during the IASA – FIAT/IFTA Joint Conference a few weeks ago, a first version of the FIAT/IFTA Outsourced Migration Guide, consisting of an Introduction, an Overview Document and a Background Document, is now available for free on the FIAT/IFTA website. The PMC also welcomes comments on these documents via pmc@fiatifta.org.