MAJOR NEW WELSH ARCHIVE LAUNCHED

THE NATIONAL Screen and Sound Archive of Wales have launched a new archive that houses an incredible collection of material showing the depth and richness of the Welsh association with moving image and sound for over a hundred years.
The new archive is the fruit of close collaboration between Sgrîn, the Media Agency for Wales, and the National Library of Wales (NLW). The Archive will eventually be housed at the National Library, where building work is currently under way to provide additional space and facilities. In the meantime, the Archive will continue to operate from the three current sites in south and mid Wales.
Iestyn Hughes, formerly Assistant Keeper responsible for the Photographic and Sound and Moving Image Collections and for corporate planning at the National Library, has been appointed to head the new archive.
Hughes said: “The formation of the new archive ends a long period of discussions between Sgrîn and NLW, and heralds what everyone hopes will be a period of growth and opportunity. The archive begins life with 50 per cent additional funding, and has medium-term plans to develop and deliver significant improvements to the services currently provided by each party.
“The amalgamation is not so much about ‘now’ but about securing a long term, stable future for the national audio-visual collections, and about providing the Welsh public with a level of service of which they can be proud.”
The formation of the new Archive is viewed as an important step in Sgrîn’s strategy of promoting Welsh audio-visual culture.
Sgrîn who have been responsible for the running of the Wales Film and Television Archive (WFTA) will now be partners in the new venture. (CD)