State Broadcasting Archives Need Saving

Iceland’s state broadcasting service, RÚV, needs help in archiving a wealth of audio and video material going back decades.

RÚV reports that many of these archived recordings – some of them going back to 1935 – are in a bad state of disrepair. All told, there are some 10,000 albums, 30,000 reels of tape, 10,000 CDs and thousands of videos featuring interviews, plays, music, news and more. Many of these artefacts are in damaged and fragile condition.

Hreinn Valdimarsson, a technician at RÚV, believes the state of the archives is due in large part to a lack of interest in the material.

“Today you could say that this material is more or less locked in, as opposed to anyone having access to it,” he told reporters. “These are naturally national cultural treasures. It’s like the National Library or the National Museum. We have here some of the greatest voices from the history of Icelanders.”

While stressing the importance of these archives, as yet RÚV has not instituted a plan of action for their preservation.