Posted on 18 February 2020
In the past months, the HAEU assessed its half a million archival files preserved at Villa Salviati in order to identify audio-recordings and videos present in the institutional and private archival fonds. A first inventory of these audio and video recordings was drawn and internal guidelines established as regards the preservation status, the preparation of detailed descriptions and the possibility of making such materials available for consultation. A similar assessment took place in 2016-2017 for the HAEU’s photo collections.
The assessment contributes to improving the management and archival processing of these audio-visual materials. It serves as guidance for the appraisal, selection, preservation, digitisation and description of the audio-visual archives produced by EU institutions, bodies and agencies, as well as by private bodies and individuals and deposited in Florence. The assessment produced a precise overview on the audio-visual material. It suggested selected digitisation projects, by taking into consideration the conservation status, type of format, legal restrictions, and the historical value of the material.
Adding to the existing collection of more than 60,000 photographs and 1,000 posters, almost 10.000 audio and video recordings were identified throughout 36 archival fonds and collections preserved at the HAEU. The majority of these items are audios, and the most common format are open-reel audiotapes and cassettes. Concerning visual and audio-visual material, the most common formats found were VHS cassettes, Betacams, floppy disks and 16 mm films. The material traces the origins of the European Union through tapes, films and audio documents of personalities, conferences, meetings, premises, institutional visits around the world, and a variety of educational and scientific projects from across Europe.
The great majority of material was found in private holdings, such as the European Movement archives. The papers of Claus Schöndube also contains a considerable amount of audio-visual material. As to institutional fonds, the holdings of the EU agency CEDEFOP includes, among others, more than 70 VHS cassettes tracing the history, mission and objectives of the Agency since the 1980s.
The audio-visual heritage preserved at the HAEU in Florence is of great value for European citizens as it allows us to interrogate the history of European integration, not just as complement to textual documents, but as a historical source of its own. Against this background, the HAEU aims to continue improving its services, skills and infrastructure to guarantee the preservation and access to its audio-visual material that form a key part of the history of the European Union..