A significant increase in the amount of film, audio and digital formats has led the National Archives to begin procurement of an audiovisual archive management system (AVAMS).
The National Archives collects and preserves audiovisual records created by Australian government broadcasting authorities, other government agencies and media units.
Its 600,000 audiovisual physical and digital assets are stored in four offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, and Perth. Department documents state that this equates to over 26,000 metres of storage space.
“Approximately 80 per cent of the audiovisual holdings are housed at the National Archives’ Sydney office," the documents state. "This is also where the majority of specialist audiovisual preservation staff and treatment facilities are located.
“Developments in the digital domain with the increase of digital television and digital audio content created by government production agencies, digital preservation processes, and the demand for digital online access delivery have expedited the process to acquire an AVAMS,”
The functions of the AVAMS include storage, preservation and access to audiovisual assets. It will also be used to improve searching of archives.
“It is anticipated that the software products offered will be delivered in conjunction with a range of services and other deliverables,” state the documents.
These include data migration and support.
“Through the implementation of the AVAMS Solution, the National Archives seeks to better manage and control the physical and digital audiovisual assets in its audiovisual collection," the documents state.
As part of the implementation, suppliers are expected to work with Archives to migrate data from external sources into the AVAMS, including database tables, database records, field structures, field values, spreadsheet data, and image files.
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