IASA-BAAC 2026 Conference

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8:30am EEST

Morning Tea

Thursday October 22, 2026 8:30am - 9:30am EEST

Atrium 5th floor: Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania

Thursday October 22, 2026 8:30am - 9:30am EEST
Atrium 5th floor: Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania

Morning Tea

9:30am EEST

General Assembly

Thursday October 22, 2026 9:30am - 11:00am EEST

Conference hall: Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania: Great Hall

Thursday October 22, 2026 9:30am - 11:00am EEST
Conference hall: Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania: Great Hall

Zoom password 815104

11:00am EEST

Preservation of Archives and Library Materials During Civil Wars in Africa: Case of Democratic Republic of Congo and Mali

Thursday October 22, 2026 11:00am - 11:30am EEST

Statehood hall: Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania

Archives and library manuscripts are expected to be safeguarded during periods of armed conflict. While a substantial body of literature has examined the destruction and loss of archival and library materials in conflicts such as the Ukraine–Russia war (Chorna, 2023) and in the Middle East (Moustafa, 2016), other studies, including those by Um (2020) and Luft (2020), have focused on the reconstruction of archives during and after the Holocaust. However, existing research on the destruction and recovery of library and archival manuscripts has largely concentrated on the Global North. In contrast, there is limited empirical research addressing this issue within the African context, with few exceptions such as Jethro and Karina (2024), who examined the case of the University of Cape Town. Furthermore, scholars such as Isola (2013) and Keese and Urbano (2023) highlight the lack of international media attention on the looting and destruction of archives and libraries in Africa, particularly in countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo and Mali. Consequently, the preservation of libraries and archives remains an underexplored yet potentially transformative area for understanding the extent and impact of archival losses in Africa. This presentation intends to assess the preservation of archives both Democratic Republic of Congo and Mali.
Ist author - Dr Adv. Mphalane Makhura and 2nd author Dr Nkholedzeni Sidney Netshakhuma

Speakers

Dr Adv. Mphalane Makhura

Netshakhuma Nkholedzeni Sidney

Senior Lecturer Information Studies, University of Zululand

Dr Netshakhuma Nkholedzeni Sdiney completed PhD Information Studies at the University of South Africa specialising in Archives and Records Management. He is currently a Senior Lecturer Information Studies. He published extensively in Information, archives and records management... Read More →

Thursday October 22, 2026 11:00am - 11:30am EEST
Statehood hall: Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania

Short Presentation, Online

global Y
Zoom password 289030

11:00am EEST

Wartime Recordings of Voskovec and Werich: Optical Digitisation of Damaged Lacquer Discs Using the INA-Saphir System: Technical Resilience and Preservation Refresh Strategies

Thursday October 22, 2026 11:00am - 12:00pm EEST

Education hall: Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania

The Sound Laboratory of the National Museum has recently expanded its preservation workflows for severely degraded historical sound recordings through the implementation of non-contact optical scanning technologies. Since 2023, the INA-Saphir system has been used to digitise lacquer discs that cannot be safely reproduced using conventional mechanical playback. This approach enables the recovery of audio content from cracked, delaminated, and fragmented carriers and represents a viable preservation strategy for vulnerable sound recordings from the World War II period.

This contribution presents a case study of wartime radio broadcasts by Voskovec and Werich, produced during their exile in the United States for transmission to occupied Czechoslovakia. The original lacquer discs, manufactured and used under wartime conditions, exhibit significant material degradation that limits their accessibility today.
Focusing on applied preservation practice, the paper outlines key stages of the optical digitisation workflow, including condition assessment, capture, signal reconstruction, and post-processing. It highlights practical decision-making in handling fragile media and demonstrates how material analysis informs the selection of appropriate digitisation strategies. The case study illustrates how optical scanning can function as a resilience-oriented approach for preserving obsolete and physically compromised audio carriers that are otherwise unplayable.

Speakers

Geoff Tyson

Sound Engineer, National Museum, Czech Republic

Geoff Tyson is an audio engineer at the National Museum in Prague. Since 2020, he has specialized in the restoration, preservation, and digitization of old historical sound carriers from the 19th and 20th century.

Filip Šír

Head of Digitization Department, National Museum, Czech Republic

Filip Šír is a specialist in the preservation of historical audio heritage in the Czech Republic. Since 2012, he has focused on national coordination, digitization, and long-term conservation of sound documents. He works at the National Museum as head of digitization department... Read More →

Thursday October 22, 2026 11:00am - 12:00pm EEST
Education hall: Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania

Long Presentation, In Person

global Y
Zoom password 867213

11:00am EEST

A Community of Communities: Collaborative Preservation of LGBTQ+ Archives in the Balkans

Thursday October 22, 2026 11:00am - 12:00pm EEST

Conference hall: Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania: Great Hall

As international funding for LGBTQ+ cultural heritage initiatives declines, community archives are increasingly building and maintaining their own infrastructure to preserve queer histories. In this session, panelists from Serbia and the United States present the work of Arkadija Archive, Community Archiving Workshop (CAW) Collective, Balkan Community Memory Project (BCM) and Balkan Network of Queer Archives as a model for collective preservation and stewardship of LGBTQ+ heritage in the Balkans.

Arkadija archive exists to resist erasure by collecting, preserving, and amplifying LGBTIQ+ memories, histories, and voices that have been systematically marginalized. They have collaborated with the CAW Collective and BCM to support community skill-sharing and jump-start preservation of these materials through a series of workshops that invite archivists and librarians from the region to participate. A 2024 workshop in Belgrade brought community members together for training in VHS and newspaper preservation, alongside screenings of rare footage documenting the city’s first Pride parade. A 2026 workshop (scheduled for April 2026) expands this model into a two-day, regional training focused on digital preservation and community-led digitization of analog media. The invitation for participation extends to queer organizations throughout the Balkans via the Balkan Network of Queer Archives inaugural gathering in Belgrade.

This session offers a model for sustaining community-driven audiovisual preservation under conditions of financial precarity, with practical and ethical insights for archivists working in similarly constrained contexts worldwide. Grounded in collective care and community, panelists share lessons learned in ensuring sustainable long-term storage and access for audiovisual materials, and in navigating privacy, consent, and risk—particularly where visibility carries social or political consequences.

Speakers

Shay Hix

Founding Member, CAW Collective

Shay Hix is a core member of the Community Archiving Workshop (CAW) Collective and a Fulbright Specialist. She co-authored the study Mapping the Magnetic Media Landscape, published by BAVC Media in September 2025. She has worked as curator at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum... Read More →

Jelena Vasiljevic

Executive Director, Arkadija Archive / Rainbow Ignite

Executive Director of Arkadija Archive and Rainbow Ignite.Experienced Program Manager with a demonstrated history of working in the civic & social organization industry. Skilled in Nonprofit Organizations, Capacity Development, Organizational Development, Event Management, Volunteer... Read More →

Thursday October 22, 2026 11:00am - 12:00pm EEST
Conference hall: Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania: Great Hall

Panel, In Person

global Y
Zoom password 815104

11:00am EEST

From One Station to a National Factory: Scaling Digitization Without Scaling Headcount

Thursday October 22, 2026 11:00am - 12:00pm EEST

Events hall: Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania: Great Hall

Many archives assume large-scale digitization means handing collections to an external service provider. It doesn't. Drawing on recent NOA installations — from a single-operator PICO workbench to a 80 -line national broadcast factory — this session shows how institutions can run digitization entirely in-house: their own staff, their own building, their own schedule. NOA brings the know-how, the software workbenches, and — where needed — the playback hardware itself, so archives keep full ownership of their collections rather than outsourcing them. We walk through real deployment phases and the tangible in-house results each one delivered.

Speakers

NOA

Managing Partner, NOA GmbH

Our Mission:
NOA is a privately owned business company founded in 2000 in Austria (EU) that provides flexible turnkey solutions for sustainable multimedia archiving and legacy archive digitization on an entry to enterprise scale.

"As one of the leaders in the digital archive market with decades of experience, NOA takes the responsibility of shaping the future of multimedia archiving in a long-term perspective seriously. We work tirelessly to offer state-of-the-art technology backed by top-of-the-class services... Read More →

Thursday October 22, 2026 11:00am - 12:00pm EEST
Events hall: Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania: Great Hall

Vendor Presentation

Zoom password 530701

12:00pm EEST

A Necessary Challenge: Critical Audio Edition of Hitler’s Speeches 1933-1945

Thursday October 22, 2026 12:00pm - 12:30pm EEST

Education hall: Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania

Editing Adolf Hitler’s speeches is a necessary challenge. As key documents produced by perpetrators, they are essential for critically examining the Nazi era. Making these sources accessible requires careful ethical consideration. In a joint project, funded by the German Research Foundation, the Leibniz Institute for Contemporary History (Munich / Berlin), the Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, the Marburg University, the Leibniz Institute for German Language (Mannheim) and the German Broadcasting Archive (Frankfurt am Main / Potsdam) will identify, analyse and edit the extensive amount of speeches that Hitler delivered between 1933 and 1945. 735 speeches will be made available as a text edition (digital / print), accompanied by introductions to the current state of knowledge and the historical context. The 346 speeches that have been preserved as audio documents will be made available to a restricted group of users in the form of a critically annotated digital audio edition that can be searched and analysed using advanced machine learning methods. This edition will enable scholars to answer specific questions that remained unresolved due to the limited accessibility of the sources in the past. At the same time, the edition aims at our present: analysing Hitler’s speeches enables comparisons to be drawn with the language used by contemporary extremists and populists. Next to providing an overview of the project as a whole, the presentation will be given from the perspective of the archive and will focus on the audio edition: We will reflect on the challenges of (a) compiling and documenting a collection that has been preserved in different archives across Europe as a result of World War II, (b) digitising audio sources that have been preserved on different carriers, in different formats and in various conditions, and (c) – our key aspect – digitally restoring a heterogeneous collection of audio files, which makes it difficult to adopt a consistent technical approach.

Speakers

Simon Frei

Audio Engineer, Deutsches Rundfunkarchiv / German Broadcasting Archive

Since 2024, Simon Frei has been responsible for the digitisation, digital processing, and restoration of audio recordings in the research project "Critial Edition of Hitler's Speeches 1933-1945". With 20 years of professional experience as a sound engineer specialising in the production... Read More →

Dr. Götz Lachwitz

Research Specialist / Project Manager, Deutsches Rundfunkarchiv / German Broadcasting Archive

Dr. Götz Lachwitz has been a research specialist at the German Broadcasting Archive (DRA) in Potsdam-Babelsberg since August 2020. Following an apprenticeship as an audio engineer, he went on to study Media Studies in Bonn. He then worked as an academic assistant at the University... Read More →

Thursday October 22, 2026 12:00pm - 12:30pm EEST
Education hall: Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania

Short Presentation, In Person

global Y
Zoom password 867213

12:00pm EEST

Strategies of Concealment and Newly Gained Visibility: Lesbian Coding in Dutch Cinema

Thursday October 22, 2026 12:00pm - 12:30pm EEST

Conference hall: Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania: Great Hall

Uncovering stories that were once forced into concealment requires deciphering the coded languages and terminologies communities used over time—an ever-shifting challenge. Yet bringing these narratives to light decades later, whether through databases or public screenings, demands careful negotiation: communities can feel misinterpreted, and narratives can be misread.

Drawing on film-related documents—distribution leaflets, festival catalogues, and newspaper clippings from diverse contexts and era—this presentation explores the evolving strategies of concealment and coded documentation used to describe queer-related films and some of the strategies employed to uncover closeted storylines. It introduces a layered cataloguing approach, where film are annotated with multiple interpretative frameworks to account the shifting meaning and evolving context of minority representation in both underground and mainstream cinema. Finally, through three curated screenings at the Eye Filmmuseum—a homage to a lesbian filmmaker, a program on queer coding, and a selection of queer-related silent films—the presentation examines how these films have been presented and received by audiences.

Speakers

Lou Burkart

Archival Curator, Eye Filmmuseum

Lou Burkart is working as archival curator at the Eye Filmmuseum in Amsterdam, focusing on documentaries, female directors and queer film culture. They are also Secretary General of CCAAA, the Co-ordinating Council of Audiovisual Archival Associations. Previously they worked as restoration... Read More →

Thursday October 22, 2026 12:00pm - 12:30pm EEST
Conference hall: Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania: Great Hall

Short Presentation, In Person

global Y
Zoom password 815104

12:00pm EEST

100 years of MWA: A Century of German Engineering for Film, Radio, and Television

Thursday October 22, 2026 12:00pm - 12:30pm EEST

Events hall: Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania: Great Hall

MWA Nova GmbH traces its roots back to Mechanical Workshops Wilhelm Albrecht (MWA), a company founded in Berlin in 1926 by Wilhelm Albrecht. Over the decades, MWA became a respected manufacturer of professional film, sound, and television equipment, earning a strong reputation in the motion-picture industry. As the transition from analog to digital technologies transformed the market, the original MWA faced financial difficulties and entered insolvency in 2002. MWA Nova GmbH was subsequently established to continue the business, preserving the MWA brand, expertise, and engineering heritage. Today, MWA Nova develops and manufactures specialized film and audio scanning systems
used by archives, restoration facilities, and post-production companies worldwide, continuing nearly a century of innovation in media technology.

Speakers

Bernhard Wanko

Sales Engineer, MWA Nova

MWA Nova GmbH – Established for years and built on a more than 90-years heritage on German engineering ingenuity, MWA Nova is a passionate leading manufacturer of versatile film and audio scanning equipment and a unique and solid partner to film archives and postproduction companies... Read More →

Thursday October 22, 2026 12:00pm - 12:30pm EEST
Events hall: Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania: Great Hall

Vendor Presentation

Zoom password 530701

12:30pm EEST

Lunch

Thursday October 22, 2026 12:30pm - 1:30pm EEST

Atrium 5th floor: Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania

Thursday October 22, 2026 12:30pm - 1:30pm EEST
Atrium 5th floor: Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania

Lunch

1:30pm EEST

Context Lost, Trust Broken: Safeguarding Provenance in an Age of Audiovisual Misuse

Thursday October 22, 2026 1:30pm - 2:00pm EEST

Statehood hall: Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania

Authentic photographs, sound recordings, and moving images are increasingly being detached from their original context and re‑released into the public sphere without explanation - or with deliberately false narratives. When this happens, even genuine archival materials can become instruments of manipulation, shaping public opinion or fueling social tension. This emerging challenge places new pressures on audiovisual archives, which must now respond not only as custodians of cultural memory but also as defenders of evidential integrity.

This panel proposes to examine how institutions can strengthen their capacity to validate provenance, preserve contextual information, and communicate authenticity in an era where audiovisual content can be easily appropriated, reframed, and weaponized.

Speakers

Viktorija Gardoviča

Archive expert, Latvian National Archives Latvian State Archive of Audiovisual documents

Archive expert at the Latvian State Archive of Audiovisual Documents, where she works in the Access and Inquiry Department, specializing in database monitoring, metadata creation, and maintaining classification systems. Victorija holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in library... Read More →

Natālija Lāce

Archive expert, Latvian National Archives Latvian State Archive of Audiovisual documents

Expert at the Latvian State Archive of Audiovisual Documents, specializing in the description of audiovisual collections. Natālija has played an important role in developing strategies for integrating AI tools into archival processes. Her responsibilities include compiling archive... Read More →

Thursday October 22, 2026 1:30pm - 2:00pm EEST
Statehood hall: Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania

Short Presentation, In Person

global Y
Zoom password 289030

1:30pm EEST

Preserving Memory Under Threat: LGBTQ+ Oral Histories in Post-HB 261 Utah

Thursday October 22, 2026 1:30pm - 2:00pm EEST

Conference hall: Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania: Great Hall

With the passage of Utah’s house bill 261 (HB 261), titled “Equal Opportunity Initiatives”, cultural centers were dismantled across all Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) offices on all public universities across the state. For the University of Utah, this meant the closure of LGBTQ+ Resource Center, among many others, in 2024.

Since this closure, Special Collections at the University of Utah has been put in a balancing act of navigating a world of persistent trepidation and accessibility to collections promoting LGBTQ histories. In highlighting two oral history collections, The HIV Oral History Project and Affirmation: Gay and Lesbian Mormons Oral History Collection, I examine how differing conditions of creations of creation shape present-day risk. Factors of where interviews were conducted, facilitation, and original intent inform levels around vulnerability and disclosure, particularly with information of health status, religious affiliation, and visibility intersect. These decisions require differentiated access strategies, where decisions around description and availability are decided by the specific ethical and contextual risks embedded in each collection.

This presentation situates these collections within a broader framework of targeted community memory of the LGBTQ community under threat in wake of HB 261. I examine how archival practice becomes a site of intervention, and functions as a mode of resistance and survival. Using these oral history collections, I outline strategies for navigating these parameters in an environment where support is unstable. Central to this discussion are the ethics of visibility and consent under repressive regimes, especially for interviewees whose identities, health histories, or affiliations may place them at risk.

Speakers

Duston Mazzella

Multimedia Archivist, University of Utah

Multimedia archivist at the University of Utah specializing in audiovisual preservation, digital asset management, and inclusive archival practices. My work spans audio quality control, copyright navigation, and expanding access to Indigenous and LGBTQ collections, including projects... Read More →

Thursday October 22, 2026 1:30pm - 2:00pm EEST
Conference hall: Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania: Great Hall

Short Presentation, In Person

global Y
Zoom password 815104

1:30pm EEST

Sound as Sanctuary: Cooperative Record Labels as Decentralized Archives for Queer Diasporic Memory

Thursday October 22, 2026 1:30pm - 2:00pm EEST

Events hall: Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania: Great Hall

In this session, I examine cooperative record labels as decentralized archival infrastructures that safeguard queer diasporic memory under conditions of precarity, censorship, and cultural erasure. Framing sound as sanctuary, I argue that this model of cultural production is not neutral, but is rather an active site of refusal—building necessarily fluid, community-governed systems of preservation, narrative sovereignty, and material redistribution outside institutional and corporate control.

I ground this work in APOCALIPSIS, the transnational record label I founded in 2017 to amplify artists “de aquí / de allá” (from here/from there), as a living archive where curatorial practice, diasporic memory through sound, and infrastructural design operate as political practice. This model emerges as an intervention against institutional exclusion and extractive music industry logics, asserting autonomous and sustainable modes of cultural production.
At its core, this framework centers shared stewardship as a collective obligation, grounded in consent-based, co-authored documentation, multilingual accessibility, and intergenerational cultural transmission. I trace how distributed hosting, licensing-based collaboration, and redundant circulation function as survival strategies in response to erasure, platform volatility, surveillance, and the politics of visibility. These practices are not merely technical; they are infrastructural acts of care and resistance shaped by the imperative to protect communities while sustaining memory across contested digital and physical spaces.

This presentation frames decentralized music ecosystems as insurgent archival practice and proposes cooperative networks as necessary infrastructures for audiovisual preservation under acute and sustained conditions of crisis.

Speakers

Sara Teresa Skolnick

Ph.D. Student, The University of Texas at Austin

Sara Teresa Skolnick is an Ecuadorian-Lithuanian DJ, death doula, and cultural activist. Skolnick's practice is grounded in ancestral veneration, bone-deep listening, and presence with seen and unseen worlds.Skolnick holds a B.A. in Political Science from Boston University, a M.A... Read More →

Thursday October 22, 2026 1:30pm - 2:00pm EEST
Events hall: Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania: Great Hall

Short Presentation, In Person

global Y
Zoom password 530701

1:30pm EEST

Beyond Checksums: Conformance Checking as a Core Component of Authentic Digital Preservation

Thursday October 22, 2026 1:30pm - 2:30pm EEST

Education hall: Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania

Born-digital audiovisual collections increasingly enter archives with incomplete provenance information, heterogeneous production environments, and varying levels of technical quality. While checksum-based fixity methods reliably confirm bit-level stability after transfer, they do not reveal structural defects already present within files—defects that may affect authenticity, accessibility, and long-term preservation decisions.

This joint presentation brings together archival practice and tool development by the Austrian Mediathek and Jerome Martinez, developer of the MediaInfo project. From the institutional perspective, the Austrian Mediathek presents how systematic conformance checking was integrated into ingest workflows for born-digital audiovisual materials and how this reshaped internal assessment and decision-making processes. Based on the analysis of 4,771 incoming files, the archive identified internal inconsistencies such as truncated bitstreams, container irregularities, and mismatches between declared and actual data structures that remain invisible in traditional workflows.

Complementing this practice-based view, the MediaInfo developer introduces the principles behind the conformance checker, explaining how structural analysis at container and bitstream level makes such inconsistencies detectable and interpretable.

By combining operational archival experience with tool-level insight, the presentation demonstrates how conformance checking strengthens authenticity assessment, improves risk awareness at ingest, and supports informed, transparent preservation planning.

Conformance checking complements fixity by making structural integrity visible—turning stability into trust.

Speakers

Marion Jaks

Long term preservation, Österreichische Mediathek

Marion Jaks is a digital archivist at the Österreichische Mediathek (Austrian Mediathek) in Vienna, Austria. She holds a degree in History and completed professional library training at the Austrian National Library. Her work at the Mediathek spans both analogue and digital collections... Read More →

Jérôme Martinez

CEO, Affiliation MediaArea

Lead developer of #MediaInfo and technical consultant to a variety of projects within the fields of broadcast video, audiovisual archiving, and web video.

Thursday October 22, 2026 1:30pm - 2:30pm EEST
Education hall: Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania

Long Presentation, In Person

global Y
Zoom password 867213

2:00pm EEST

Decentering Archival Authority: Informal Networks, Post-Custodial Practice, and the IASA Ambassador Framework

Thursday October 22, 2026 2:00pm - 3:00pm EEST

Statehood hall: Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania

Contemporary archival discourse increasingly emphasizes the need to move beyond custodial paradigms toward more distributed, relational, and participatory models of stewardship. Within the field of sound and audiovisual heritage, this shift is particularly urgent, as preservation and access are shaped by global asymmetries in resources, infrastructure, and institutional authority. Mobilizing meaningful collaboration across such disparities remains a central challenge, especially where the outcomes of collective action are long-term and not immediately tangible. Within the framework of the IASA, emerging initiatives such as the Ambassador Committee, offer a productive forum for rethinking archival engagement through a post-custodial and decolonial lens.

Participants on the panel will critically examine structural and contextual barriers—including funding inequities, technological divides, and institutional silos—while also interrogating how such constraints intersect with questions of power, representation, and epistemic authority. Conceived as an open and dialogic forum, the panel invites participants to contribute to the co-development of strategies that strengthen informal networks of mutual support and exchange with a participatory platform for shaping the future direction of the Committee. We encourage attendees to actively engage in defining its forthcoming goals, priorities, and activities. This panel also serves as an entry point for broader engagement.

Speakers

Audra V. Adomenas

President, Lithuanian Archives Project

Audra Adomenas is an archivist and nonprofit leader based in Chicago. She is the founder and president of the Lithuanian Archives Project (LAP), established in 2009 and incorporated in 2012 as a not-for-profit organization in the State of Illinois, USA, dedicated to preserving, digitizing... Read More →

Patrick J Midtlyng

President; Head of Recorded Sound Processing Unit Motion Picture, Broadcasting & Recorded Sound Division, IASA; Library of Congress

Patrick Midtlyng is the Head of the Recorded Sound Section at the Library of Congress’s National Audio-Visual Conservation Center in Culpeper, VA. He is responsible for the management and direction of the Recorded Sound Section and oversees all aspects of the National Collection... Read More →

Judith Opoku-Boateng

Director, J. H. Kwabena Nketia Archives of the Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana

Judith Opoku-Boateng is University Archivist at the University of Ghana, where she leads the development and coordination of the University’s archival systems. With over two decades of experience in audiovisual heritage preservation, she has led major initiatives in audiovisual... Read More →

Perla Olivia Rodriguez Reséndiz

Professor, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México

Investigadora del Instituto de Investigaciones Bibliotecológicas y de la Información de la UNAM.
Cuenta con estancias de formación en la Radiotelevisión Italiana (RAI) y la Universidad Pontificia de Salamanca, España. Desde hace quince años es docente de la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Ha diseñado y producido series radiofónicas, televisivas y multimedia con fin... Read More →

Dr. Marija Dumnić Vilotijević

Senior Research Associate, Institute of Musicology SASA

Marija Dumnić Vilotijević holds MA and PhD in ethnomusicology from Faculty of Music of the University of Arts in Belgrade. She is Senior Research Associate at Institute of Musicology of Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts. She specialized in similar institutions of Austrian and... Read More →

Thursday October 22, 2026 2:00pm - 3:00pm EEST
Statehood hall: Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania

Long Presentation, Hybrid

Zoom password 289030

2:00pm EEST

Radio Haiti Archive: Toward a Community Politics of Repatriation

Thursday October 22, 2026 2:00pm - 3:00pm EEST

Events hall: Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania: Great Hall

This presentation tracks dissertation work on how various groups view the repatriation and return of the Radio Haiti Archive, which the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library at Duke University in North Carolina, USA, currently houses, and the role the Haitian diaspora plays in such efforts. It tracks the concepts emerging from the literature on archival repatriation, describes two interlocking bodies of theoretically informed scholarship: critical archival studies and anti-colonial archivy that serve as theoretical lenses to help frame the research and through which to examine archival repatriation and return, outlines the case study methodology pursued using specifically the methods of interviews and archival research, and offers findings.

Speakers

Sony Prosper

PhD Student, University of Michigan

Sony Prosper is a Ph.D. student at the University of Michigan School of Information in the United States of America. His research has concerned archival return and repatriation, how members and volunteers of community and grassroots archives conceptualize records, and how their conceptualizations... Read More →

Thursday October 22, 2026 2:00pm - 3:00pm EEST
Events hall: Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania: Great Hall

Long Presentation, In Person

Zoom password 530701

2:00pm EEST

Towards Shared Stewardship and Support: Strategies for Collaboration and Training from the Library of Congress, WITNESS, the CAW Collective, and the University of Michigan

Thursday October 22, 2026 2:00pm - 3:00pm EEST

Conference hall: Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania: Great Hall

How can organizations that support community-based archiving facilitate shared stewardship and other models of safeguarding cultural and documentary materials in a collaborative amd productive way? This panel discusses strategies for supporting collective and communal documentation of cultural activities.

Representatives from the American Folklife Center will discuss the Community Collections Grant program. Panelists will discuss community-based collaboration and the process of creating collections that will be part of the Library of Congress’ holdings.

A representative from WITNESS will discuss initiatives to train, provide support, and develop guidance aimed at, and in collaboration with, frontline communities who are documenting human rights violations and using their audiovisual evidence to challenge lies and misinformation in the age of generative AI. They will share examples of work with activists, journalists, fact-checkers, and other human rights defenders to strengthen their ability to capture, preserve, and verify audiovisual documentation.

A representative from CAW will discuss the collective's work over 15 years supporting cultural heritage preservation by activating care in community-held collections and exchanging knowledge through training, networking opportunities, and the production and distribution of resources. The panelist will share an overview of CAW’s history, projects, emerging services and ongoing partnerships.

A representative from the University of Michigan will discuss community-centered work at the Bentley Historical Library, undertaken in partnership with the Inclusive History Project to document university and state history from broader, more inclusive perspectives. The presentation will highlight outcomes from these engagements, with attention to how sustained community partnership has shaped archival practice and collection stewardship.

Speakers

Jesse Johnston

Clinical Assistant Professor, University of Michigan School of Information

Jesse Johnston is a Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Michigan School of Information, where he teaches courses in digital collections management and related preservation topics. He also serves as Secretary of the National Recording Preservation Foundation, a non-profit... Read More →

Paul Kelly

Lead Digital Archivist, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Paul Kelly is Lead Digital Archivist at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress, where he leads the public collecting and digital access team and directs AFC's born-digital strategy. He holds a Master of Science in Data Science from George Washington University and... Read More →

Marie Lascu

Founding Member, Audiovisual Archivist, Community Archiving Workshop (CAW) Collective

Marie is an audiovisual archivist and a founding member of Community Archiving Workshop (CAW) Collective. She is also the digital archivist for Ballet Tech, a public dance school in New York City. Marie has consulted for Crowing Rooster Arts, Third World Newsreel, Smithsonian Institution... Read More →

Virginia Millington

Program Specialist, Library of Congress

Virginia Millington is Program Specialist at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress. Previously, she served as Director, Recording and Archive, and Managing Director, Program Operations, at StoryCorps, in addition to positions at the Folger Shakespeare Library and... Read More →

Yvonne Ng

Senior Program Manager, WITNESS

Yvonne is an audiovisual archivist and a Senior Program Manager at WITNESS, where she trains and supports people to archive and preserve their human rights documentation. She currently serves on the Board of the CAW Collective and on the steering committee of the Trust in Archives... Read More →

Thursday October 22, 2026 2:00pm - 3:00pm EEST
Conference hall: Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania: Great Hall

Panel, In Person

Zoom password 289030

2:30pm EEST

Challenges of Discography in the 21st Century

Thursday October 22, 2026 2:30pm - 3:00pm EEST

Education hall: Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania

Since 1936, a significant number of discographies have been compiled, which can serve as
secondary sources for further discographic research. But how do we know that the data in a
discography are reliable? What are the criteria for the reliability of discographies? This topic
has been a concern for some discographers since the 1970s. Tim Brooks’ 1996 proposal to
apply the reference system of scientific publications to discographies points to the
methodological issue that, while references were not needed for the first discographies,
following the principle of ’first to do it’, this is no longer acceptable for today’s discographers
especially when using earlier discographies as sources. Brooks’ call has provoked sharp
criticism from parts of the discographic community, arguing that the extensive referencing of
discographic data sets not only overloads the data but also increases printing costs
enormously.

For an online published discography, this problem can be solved in several ways. In addition,
it would now in principle be possible to compile a universal discography from the set of
national discographies, with practical display, search and access options. However, there
appear to be a number of obstacles to the creation of a global discographic database. Some of
the obstacles are financial and IT-related, while others are methodological, such as the issue
of standardisation or the fact that some national discographies have not yet been completed.
In my presentation, I will discuss these two of the current challenges of discography, the
reliability of discographies and the issues of a global discography, using literature and
international examples. The presentation is linked to my research on the history and
methodology of discography funded by the Bolyai János Research Fellowship (2022–2025).

Speakers

Ferenc János Szabó

Senior research fellow, Institute for Musicology, Budapest

pianist and musicologist, senior research fellow at theArchives for 20 th -21 st -Century Hungarian Music at theInstitute for Musicology ELTE RCH and acting director ofthe Library of the Liszt Ferenc Music Academy. Hisresearch focuses on the history of the recorded sound,discography... Read More →

Thursday October 22, 2026 2:30pm - 3:00pm EEST
Education hall: Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania

Short Presentation, In Person

Zoom password 867213

3:00pm EEST

Afternoon Tea

Thursday October 22, 2026 3:00pm - 3:30pm EEST

Atrium 5th floor: Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania

Thursday October 22, 2026 3:00pm - 3:30pm EEST
Atrium 5th floor: Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania

Afternoon Tea

3:30pm EEST

How to Preserve and Work with Minority Archives in Nordland, Norway

Thursday October 22, 2026 3:30pm - 4:00pm EEST

Events hall: Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania: Great Hall

We propose an approximately 18-minute presentation by Ketil Jensen from Arkiv i Nordland at the upcoming conference, focusing on two significant areas of work: the “Skeiv i Nordland – Queer in Nordland, a northern region of Norway” project and the documentation of the history of immigrants who have settled in Nordland.

In his talk, Ketil Jensen, who leads the regional archive institution in Nordland and is also a board member of the Norwegian Association of Archives (Arkivforbundet), will first present the objectives, methods, and outcomes of the “Skeiv i Nordland” initiative. This project has played a crucial role in collecting, preserving, and sharing the stories and experiences of the LGBTQ+ community in the Nordland region. Jensen will discuss the challenges encountered during the project, including the importance of building trust and establishing access with the communities involved. He will also describe how Arkiv i Nordland has taken part in relevant meeting places and community arenas, for example through presence and dialogue during Pride, creating safer entry points for collecting stories and archival material. He will also highlight how meaningful it has been for many that their lives have been documented and that they have had the opportunity to tell their own stories in an archival context.

The second part of the presentation will explore the work done to document the lives and histories of immigrants from non-Western parts of the world who have moved to Nordland. Both projects have used similar methods, including outreach, trust-building, and audiovisual documentation such as recorded interviews, in order to preserve stories that might otherwise be absent from the archival record. Jensen will share insights into the archival process, highlight notable stories, and reflect on how these narratives contribute to a broader understanding of Nordland’s evolving identity. A key point is that this work is not only about the past; it is first and foremost about collecting stories for people living today, supporting recognition, belonging, and representation in the present. He will also address how trust-building and long-term relationship work can be essential to gain access and ensure that people feel safe sharing their experiences. The presentation will also highlight practical and ethical approaches to documenting underrepresented communities through trust-building, outreach, and long-term relationship work. It will also touch on the ways in which these projects foster inclusion and diversity within the local community.

This session offers valuable perspectives on regional history, diversity, and the significance of inclusive archival practices in documenting underrepresented communities. We look forward to the opportunity for Ketil Jensen to share Arkiv i Nordland’s experiences and inspire further dialogue on these important topics.

Following Jensen’s presentation, Kjetil Landrog, Secretary General of the Norwegian Association of Archives, will comment on national initiatives related to multicultural, queer, and other underrepresented groups, including the Sámi population. This will be about 8 minutes. The session will then conclude with approximately 5 minutes for questions and discussion. 30 minutes in total.

Speakers

Ketil Jensen

CEO, Arkiv i Nordland & The Norwegian association of archives

Ketil Jensen is the head of Arkiv i Nordland, where he oversees the institution’s daily operations and its work with preserving, managing, and making accessible archival material in the Nordland region. He is also known for his involvement in cultural heritage projects, including... Read More →

Kjetil Landrog

Secretary General, The Norwegian Archive Association (Arkivforbundet)

Kjetil Landrog is the Secretary General of The Norwegian Archive Association (Arkivforbundet), a role he has held since 2017. He brings extensive experience from politics, public administration, and strategic communication, including elected positions at both local and regional levels... Read More →

Thursday October 22, 2026 3:30pm - 4:00pm EEST
Events hall: Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania: Great Hall

Short Presentation, In Person

global Y
Zoom password 530701

3:30pm EEST

Safeguarding the Audiovisual Heritage: Resilience, Identity, and Risk Management Approach to Preservation in Eastern and Southern African Audiovisual Archives

Thursday October 22, 2026 3:30pm - 4:00pm EEST

Statehood hall: Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania

Preservation of audiovisual records is not merely a technical task, but a radical act of protecting African identity, memory, and historical fats during times of peace and conflict alike. This paper examines strategies for safeguarding audiovisual collections by aligning Eastern and Southern Africa regional preservation efforts with the focus on crisis preparedness and resilience. It specifically investigates the role of preservation practitioners and archivists in protecting "threatened collections” before, during, and after war or conflict" focusing on the ‘at risk’ heritage within Eastern and Southern African archival institutions. Using a quantitative research approach with a 62% response rate, the findings highlighted poor governance, absence of preservation planning, poor staff development, and that inadequate preservation frameworks have been made concrete by the socio-political volatility of regions prone to civil unrest, climate-induced crises, and environmental disaster. These risks demonstrate with clarity that the "piecemeal approach" critiqued in this paper is not merely a technical deficiency but a form of institutional vulnerability that renders irreplaceable audiovisual memory defenseless when crises strike. Through empirical results, a framework that integrates governance, preservation strategies, preservation planning, staff development, and the use of artificial intelligence tools with modern risk-management protocols was proposed. This will contribute to archival theory. The practical implication of this study is the enhanced regional cooperation within archival institutions of the Eastern and Southern Africa, and an example of a good archival practice for other institutions of other regions too.

Speakers

BN Ncala - ‘Nthabiseng’

Lecturer at the University of South Africa in the Department of Information Science, in Gauteng, South Africa, University of South Africa, College of Human Sciences

Dr Ncala known as Nthabiseng, is a lecturer in Information Science at the Universityof South Africa (Unisa) since 2015. She holds a PhD in Information Science. Herresearch focused on the preservation management of audiovisual records atESARBICA. She earned her master’s in information... Read More →

Thursday October 22, 2026 3:30pm - 4:00pm EEST
Statehood hall: Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania

Short Presentation, In Person

Zoom password 289030

3:30pm EEST

Technological Resilience and Preservation Refresh Measures in Handling Obsolete Audio-Visual Collections "Silent Archives": The Case of Unisa Library Archives

Thursday October 22, 2026 3:30pm - 4:00pm EEST

Education hall: Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania

Audio-visual material kept by the Unisa Library is an important part of heritage and history of various cultures, recording oral traditions, traditional melodies, and events, which were recorded using non-textual media only. A significant portion of audio-visual archives have been rendered obsolete due to quick evolution of formats, degradation of physical medium, out-of-date methods of reproduction, and lack of means for maintenance.

In this article, we explore technical obstacles in handling and conserving audio-visual materials that became obsolete and outline measures aimed at preserving and revitalising such collections to restore their utility. Using case of the Unisa Library Archives, the study considers the state of deterioration, the problem of obsolescent file formats, and necessity of developing preservation refresh strategy involving digitisation and migration.

Specific measures outlined in this study include implementing sustainable processes of digitisation with acquisition of proper playback hardware, software, and related infrastructure, setting up check-summing routines and integrity controls, developing metadata system to guarantee provenance, and employing hybrid on-site and off-site storage facilities. It also includes seeking financial support from heritage sponsors, establishing cooperation to share resources, and developing an audio-visual collection preservation policy including regular refreshing cycles.

In addition, implementing measures of preservation refresh and digitisation will lead to increased technological resilience and will allow addressing the challenge of obsolescence and ensuring access in case of possible disruptions. This study gives practical examples for archivists who want to implement a successful preservation refresh strategy.

Speakers

Lufuno Kgamedi

Archivist, University of South Africa - Library

Ms. Lufuno Kgamedi, an Archivist with sixteen years of experience, began her career in 2009 at the National Archives of South Africa, where she developed her expertise and passion for preserving archival records. In 2013, she joined the University of South Africa (Unisa) Library (Archives... Read More →

Thursday October 22, 2026 3:30pm - 4:00pm EEST
Education hall: Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania

Short Presentation, In Person