AMIA 2024

Nitrate film is often one of the oldest materials held in audiovisual collections. It is a challenging format; stable when stored in good conditions but potentially dangerous when poorly managed. With the development of scanning technology that captures the unique tints and tones of nitrate many archives are pursuing active programs of digitisation and access. This raises some interesting challenges with the movement and handling of nitrate materials and whether our current procedures accurately reflect the actual risks of the format. Do we really understand when nitrate is dangerous? Should we reconsider storage conditions when building new facilities? Do we have the right information available to determine and manage the risks AND to ensure that beautiful nitrate film content is available to our audiences.