49. évfolyam, 2003. 1. szám

Archívum

The National Audiovisual Archive project

TÓSZEGI Zsuzsanna

Professionals have to face a new challenge: the processing of audiovisual documents in public collections. Sooner or later the archiving of television and radio programmes and services based on these will have to be taken care of. In September 2001 the European Union has issued the so-called European Convention in order to state what signing nations have to do in order to protect and use the audiovisual heritage.

In Hungary the law CXL of 1997 stated that the national registry of image and sound recordings has to be established of the documents stored in the archives of broadcasting organisations. Previously various collections (the Archive of the Hungarian Radio, the Film Archive, the National Széchényi Library) have catalogued these documents differently, and their services were also limited. The Ministry of the National Cultural Heritage (MNCH) and the Government Supervisor of Informatics gave subsidy to the Centre of Informatics, Budapest Technical University in 1999 for laying the foundations of the National Audiovisual Archive. Experts have surveyed the international practice of audiovisual archiving, and prepared a feasibility study. In Spring, 2001 the Government decided that the NAVA project be continued at the Neumann János Digital Library and Multimedia Centre (Neumann House). The government (MNCH, the Government Supervisor of Informatics, and the National Radio and Television Commission) provided 35 million forints for the first phase of collection development. Keeping in harmony with the intentions of the European Union, the statutory document of the NAVA project was prepared, and the aims of phase one were specified as follows: 1) preparation of legal regulations necessary for the operation of the project, 2) elaboration of standards and technologies for the digitisation, processing, etc. of audiovisual documents, 3) elaboration of the frameworks and documents underlying the operation of NAVA. Subtasks were dealt with by three working groups (legal experts, database management and standardisation group, and technological group). Committees have prepared the necessary documents creating thus the circumstances necessary for the operation of the project. Beside documents provided for the archive as legal deposits, there are also documents submitted voluntarily. By 2003 the legal background, upon which the services of NAVA can be based, will be created. A terminological dictionary has been prepared, and the adaptation of the Dublin Core standard is planned for audiovisual documents. The elaboration of the system is finished.

Országos Széchényi Könyvtár Észrevételek