AMIA 2024

In 2019, BAVC Media began a project to provide equipment and community-centered, peer-to-peer driven training in magnetic media preservation to Host Site Partner Organizations and their communities around the United States. Five years later, over 13 Host Sites in California, New York, Missouri, Oklahoma, Hawai’i, Texas, and Maryland have participated, and approximately 45 community members have been trained. The program (supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities) offers a model for preservation training that bridges gaps between cultural workers and technicians, and offers a pathway for rigorous training outside of academic programs, internships, and apprenticeships. In this panel, BAVC Media and representatives from Host Site Partner Organizations, ENTRE Film Center and Skid Row History Museum and Archive, share the challenges, outcomes, and lessons learned from five years of the program. We encourage a lively discussion of how other organizations and individuals approach technical training in preservation.