Community Archiving Workshop: Audiovisual Collections Care
Tuesday, November 12, 9:00 AM-5:00 PM
Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries, and Museums (ATALM) Annual Conference
Santa Rosa, Renaissance Palm Springs Hotel, Palm Springs, CA
The Community Archiving Workshop (CAW) organized a one-day workshop in partnership with The Onöhsagwë:de’ Cultural Center (OCC) at the Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries, and Museums (ATALM) Annual Conference. This was the second workshop organized and delivered under the National Endowment for the Humanities grant funded project Expanding the Circle of Care for Audiovisual Collections in Tribal Archives. All of the workshops delivered by CAW through the Expanding the Circle of Care project is made possible in coordination with the Association of Moving Image Archivists (AMIA) and ATALM.
- Collection Partners from The Onöhsagwë:de’ Cultural Center
- Hayden Haynes
- Randee Spruce
- Brianna Lyman
- Team Leaders
- Afsheen Nomia
- Sandra Yates
- Team Members
- Kate Dollenmayer
- Lorena Ramírez-López
- Lulu Zilinskas
- Pamela Vadakan
About The Onöhsagwë:de’ Cultural Center
The Onöhsagwë:de’ Cultural Center (OCC) located on the Allegany territory of the Seneca Nation is home to the Seneca Nation’s archives and museum collections. Through our collections we hope to preserve the collective experience of the Onöndowa’ga:’ (people of the great hill) and the Hodinöhsö:ni’ for future generations of community members, researchers, and the public. Museum and Archive staff at the OCC are the safekeepers of traditional and original artwork, archaeological artifacts, historical documents, including articles, special publications, historical and family photographs and various audio-visual materials regarding the Onöndowa’ga:’ and Hodinöhsö:ni’.
The audio-visual materials brought with the representatives of the OCC for the workshop include mini discs, mini cassettes, cassettes, floppy discs, mini video tapes, VHS tapes, beta tapes, and reel to reels. Majority of the A/V materials are of prominent community members interviewed on matters of historical significance to the Seneca Nation. Nya:wëh to those participating in the workshop helping us address the condition of our A/V materials and organize the collections for future use by our community members and the general public.
Resources from the Day
Workshop Summary
Content of items inventoried: Oral history interviews; museum events, facilities, narrative video productions for tours and exhibits, lectures, craft and food demonstrations, Tee-Pee Room; digital files noted on floppy disks include: photos, administrative documents, historical reference materials.
Other Activities during workshop: Digitization demonstrations
Presentation included the following training modules:
- AV Essentials: Identifying & Assessing Analog Media. Part One: Film
- AV Basics: Identifying & Assessing Analog Media. Part Two: Magnetic Media
- AV Basics: Identifying & Assessing Digital Media. Part Three: Optical Media
Number of workshop participants: 30 participants
States participants are from: Alaska, Arizona, California, Florida, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Virginia, Washington, Wyoming, Manitoba, Ontario
Countries participants are from: United States and Canada
Kinds of organizations participants are from (libraries, museums, schools, etc): Museums, Archives, Libraries, Tribes, Preservation Departments, Government, Cultural & Language Centers, Schools and Universities, Nonprofits and Foundations and Consulting Companies
Day in Numbers
Total Number of items inventoried: 197 assets equaling 211 total items.
Formats of items inventoried
Format | Count |
3.5″ Floppy Disk | 71 |
Betacam SP | 2 |
Compact cassettes | 34 |
DVC | 1 |
DVM60 | 2 |
Grooved media (record) | 5 |
Microcassette | 20 |
Mini Disc | 24 |
MiniDV | 11 |
Reel-to-Reel Audio 5″ | 15 |
Reel-to-Reel Audio 7″ | 1 |
U-matic (¾”) | 1 |
U-matic-S (¾”) | 4 |
VHS | 3 |
Zip Disk | 3 |
Total Assets | 197 |
Total Items (based on Item-Count or Extent) | 211 |
Breakdown of Media Types
Media Type* | Count |
Recorded Sound | 94 |
Moving Image | 23 |
* counts do not include still images and text documents on digital storage, like floppy disks and compact discs. |
Breakdown of Media Type and Formats
Media Type | Format |
Still Image | 3.5″ Floppy Disk |
Recorded Sound | Compact cassettes |
Moving Image | Mini Disc |
Recorded Sound | Mini Disc |
Still Image | Compact cassettes |
Recorded Sound | Microcassette |
Moving Image | DVM60 |
Moving Image | MiniDV |
Recorded Sound | DVC |
Recorded Sound | MiniDV |
Moving Image | U-matic-S (¾”) |
Moving Image | U-matic (¾”) |
Moving Image | VHS |
Moving Image | Betacam SP |
Recorded Sound | Reel-to-Reel Audio 7″ |
Recorded Sound | Reel-to-Reel Audio 5″ |
Recorded Sound | Grooved media (record) |
Images from the Day


Funding and Support



