IASA 2019 Annual Conference

Over the past 50 years, the nature of audio and video recording and its documentation has evolved, influencing the manner in which cultural and other artistic expressions are shared for education and entertainment purposes. Media formats have undergone radical changes during this period aided by the wave of technological innovation(s). The digital revolution has brought about new audio-visual formats for archiving. This has caused institutional archives worldwide to make a transition from preserving audio-visual collections on tapes to creating digital files.  One such international archives, the J. H. Kwabena Nketia archives at the Institute of African Studies at the University of Ghana, is currently bracing the opportunities and challenges offered by emerging innovations in archiving. In this paper, we will discuss some of the problems, advantages and potential solutions of migrating from analogue formats of data storage to modern digital solutions. This presentation would be made within the framework of the current needs of African archives, taking into consideration budget, connectivity issues, technical capability of staff, available equipment and long-term preservation needs. This talk will draw from the digitization experiences at the J.H. Kwame Nketia Archives at the Institute of African Studies as well as a startup community archives in Chicago -- the Lithuanian Archives Project (LAP). It is our hope that this presentation will generate a dispassionate discussion on the above issues relevant to archives that are facing similar challenges in the developing world.