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Outcome 4 - Resources for outcomes

Increased use, enjoyment and safety of Australia's audiovisual heritage

	(1) Budget* 2001-02 $'000	(2) Actual expenses 2001-02 $'000	Variation (column 2 minus column 1) $'000	Budget** 2002-03 $'000
Administered expenses (including third party outputs)	-	-	-	-
Total administered expenses	-	-	-	-
Price of Departmental outputs
Output 4.1 A high quality, safe and accessible national audiovisual collection	36 361	37 077	716	36 153
Output 4.2 The national audiovisual collection is widely accessed by the public	12 520	11 874	(646)	12 457
Revenue from Government (Appropriation) for Departmental outputs	40 939	40 939	0	40 587
Revenue from other sources	7 942	8 012	70	8 023
Total price of outputs	48 881	48 951	70	48 610
TOTAL FOR OUTCOME 4 (Total Price of Outputs and Administered Expenses)	48 881	48 951	70	48 610

* Full-year budget, including additional estimates

** Budget prior to additional estimates

Average staffing level	2001-02	2002-03
	225	213

ScreenSound Australia, theNational Screen and Sound Archive, develops and maintains an audiovisual collection reflecting Australian culture and the audiovisual industry, and encourages the access and use of the collection throughout the country.

ScreenSound Australia has a high level of expertise in restoring a broad range of film, video and audio artefacts and, where necessary, transferring their content to modern media for preservation and access.

The collection is large and continues to grow, reflecting the significant output generated throughout Australia. ScreenSound Australia nurtures partnerships with external experts and commercial organisations with a view to ensuring that the quality of the collection continues to increase. Consultancies and training programs are also conducted for overseas archives and organisations. The collection is housed in environmentally-controlled facilities and is monitored to ensure its safety.

Departmental outputs

Output 4.1: A high quality, safe and accessible national audiovisual collection.

Performance indicators

• One hundred per cent of new acquisitions accessioned within 18 months.
• Materials maintained in optimum conditions for 95 per cent of the time.
• Materials acquired meet identified collection priority needs and formal preferences.
• 47 000 items accessioned in 2001-02.
• 1.2 million items stored.
• 14 000 items acquired into the collection.
• Priority items for disposal removed from the collection.

Collection management

ScreenSound Australia achieved its aim of fully accessioning 100 per cent of new acquisitions within 18 months. In addition, it entered all new collection acquisitions into the collection management system database (MAVIS) at least to minimal registration level within three months of receipt.

In 2001-02, major activities included developing and implementing a registration process to improve ScreenSound's capacity to document all 'backlog' and new items into the collection quickly and effectively. Staff also implemented a collection security project, conducting a stocktake of the collection and identifying surplus or extremely deteriorated material and removing it, and registering all collection items in the 'backlog' to be retained in the MAVIS database.

As illustrated in Graph 9, a total of 84 465 items were entered into ScreenSound's collection management system database during 2001-02. This represents an increase of 80 per cent above the annual target of 47 000 items, and is related directly to the implementation of the new streamlined registration process and the particular focus on documenting the backlog.

ScreenSound stores some 1.3 million items. ScreenSound has a deselection process as a means of refining its collection. During 2001-02, 100 000 items were removed from the collection after a review of deselection protocols. The majority of deselected items this financial year were 62 000 international vinyl recordings which were sold publicly in March, raising $60 000.

Graph 9: Total number of collection items accessioned at ScreenSound Australia

Collection preservation

Major preservation activities included continuing work on analysing storage options to deal with the predicted long-term growth of ScreenSound's collection. This involved improving existing storage infrastructure to optimise spare capacity in current facilities in the short term-up to five years-and ongoing risk management activities specifically for preservation film, U-matic videos and documentation material.

Staff also carried out preservation work on 217 400 feet of film for the Kodak/Atlab Cinema Collection project and 11 560 feet as part of its support for the Distributed National Collection and international archives.

During 2001-02, optimum environmental storage conditions at ScreenSound's Mitchell facility in relation to relative humidity were achieved for 95 per cent of the time and in relation to temperature for 97 per cent of the time. These results are within the prescribed performance indicators and ensure ScreenSound's long-term preservation requirements for collection items are met.

Table 7: Summary of key preservation activities for 2001-02

Activity	2000-01	2001-02	Percentage (%) increase/decrease
Treated for preservation
Film (in feet)	187 270	157 000	-171
Audio and video carriers	1806	2404	+33
Collection development and access items produced
Audio and video carriers	3425	4522	+32
Film (in feet)	12 447	77 020	+519
Documentation carriers	1338	797	-402

¹The decrease of film treated for preservation is due to the priority given to the special projects Big Screen 2001 and Big Screen 2002 for which over 52 000 feet were copied.

²The decrease of documentation access items being produced is due to the finalisation of a special digitisation project which ran during 2000-01.

Other major activities this financial year included providing specialist professional advisory and copying services to various national and international organisations including the National Archives of Australia, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, the Australian War Memorial, State Library of South Australia, Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association, Powerhouse Museum, National Maritime Museum, the Percy Grainger Museum in Melbourne, Vanuatu Cultural Centre, the Tjibaou Cultural Centre of New Caledonia and the Laos Film Archive.

ScreenSound also reconstructed the Australian classic film The Sentimental Bloke (1919) incorporating recently sourced new material found in the United States.

During the year, ScreenSound completed a new digital audio platform and upgrade of digital video encoding facilities which enabled it to manage audio and video sourced content in data form

for both preservation and access purposes. The preservation management component of the system will be fully achieved with the installation of a robotic tape library system in early 2002-03.

For the period 2001-02, the website attracted an average of 26 724 visitors per month, with 320 686 visitors for the year. The average duration of site visits was approximately 12 minutes, with an average 136 965 pages viewed by visitors each month.

The Online Collection Catalogue, Technical Glossary, ScreenSound Club and technical helpdesk are the most popular areas for site visitors.

A variety of scientific research continued throughout the year into providing more economic management. Notable examples include research on rejuvenating and preserving badly water damaged acetate film, and work on film can ventilation to extend the life of stored film.

The automation of the management of the technical services supply chain was slowed in the face of other more immediate priorities and emerging collection management complexities. The project will be resumed and completed in 2002-03.

Collection development

All acquired items gaps filled in, making it more reflective of overall Australian output.

Major collection development activities during the 2001-02 financial year included reviewing the Collection Development and Indigenous Materials Policies and developing a Distributed National Collection Policy. This ensures current collection needs are recognised and addressed and increase the profile of ScreenSound within the Australian music industry.

In addition, during the year 205 000 database entries were upgraded to improve the quality of collection information, an increase of 32 per cent from the previous financial year, due to the registration and collection security projects. Descriptive and technical information on 12 600 documentation items was added to the database during the year, including a wide range of radio serial, television and film scripts which brought the total script collection listed in the database to more than 30 000 items.

ScreenSound Australia completed a specialised subject listing for oral histories, providing improved information and access to this part of the collection. It also collaborated with the National Library of Australia to develop Music Australia-a web-based service for digitised Australian music resources (both historical and contemporary).

A stocktake of more than 300 000 preservation and duping audiovisual items listed in the database, was conducted during 2001-02, and improvements made to the follow-up process for items that have been out of the vaults for too long.

ScreenSound Australia acquired a total of 18 646 items for the collection during 2001-02, an increase of 19 per cent over 2000-01 and an increase of 33 per cent against the target figure of 14 000 items. Work continued with other government and commercial audiovisual media organisations to refine the mechanisms for the automatic lodging of contemporary materials into the National Collection.

Acquisitions for the ScreenSound Australia collection comprise both contemporary and retrospective material. This year, items acquired included:

• 207 Australian Film Commission or Australian Film Finance Corporation-funded film and television titles;
• 515 commercially released films;
• 1550 radio titles;
• 4248 television titles;
• 3984 sound recordings;
• 88 new media titles;
• 278 home movie titles;
• 153 oral histories;
• 196 advertisements;
• 111 other titles; and
• 7066 documentation items.

Significant acquisitions for this reporting period included:

• 2001 Federal Election material televised around Australia;
• coverage of the World Trade Centre Disaster Special on 12-13 September 2001;
• substantial donations from recording companies such as EMI, BMG, Festival Mushroom, Universal and Vibe;
• collections from Dave Graney and Tex Perkins;
• Media Magazine selection (a current affairs program from 1986-1999) from Radio 2SER;
• original film footage featuring events in Canberra's Greek community during the 1950s; and
• feature films, such as Feeling Sexy (d. Davida Allen, 1999), Lantana (d. Ray Lawrence, 2001), The Missing (d. Manuela Alberti, 1998), The Boys (d. Rowan Woods, 1997), The Man Who Sued God (d. Mark Joffe, 2001) and Love and Other Catastrophes (d. Emma Kate Croghan, 1996).

Output 4.2: The national audiovisual collection is widely accessed by the public.

Performance indicators

• 95 per cent of visitors to onsite exhibitions and participants in public outreach activities satisfied.
• 95 per cent of clients serviced according to the Service Charter.
• 3000 access requests serviced.
• 9500 access enquiries received.
• 65 per cent (12.35million people) of the Australian public view or listen to at least one item from the collection during the year, via media distribution channels.
• 90 000 onsite visitors to exhibition, public, education and cultural outreach programs.
• 58 000 visitors to external programs.
• 200 000 people view/listen to ScreenSound Australia products.

ScreenSound Australia's national collection is accessed via programs broadcast on Australian television and radio. Partnerships with industry, researchers, producers and performers are actively encouraged to ensure the widest possible use of the collection and its presentation to a diverse cross-section of Australian viewers and listeners.

Access to the national collection is also gained through a wide range of ScreenSound Australia's public programs including exhibitions, live presentations, cultural outreach, film screenings and products.

ScreenSound conducted a review its Service Charter during the year in consultation with stakeholders and clients, and reviewed and updated its Access and Public Programs policy to ensure current needs are addressed.

Collection promotion, interpretation and dissemination

Formal surveys of clients who visited ScreenSound Australia's exhibitions or attended live presentations, screenings and outreach activities resulted in ratings of good to excellent overall by 98 per cent of clients.

Exhibitions for ScreenSound Australia for the 2001-02 financial year included:

The Sights + Sounds of a Nation, a major ScreenSound Australia exhibition, which explores 100 years of Australian film, television, radio and recorded sound heritage completed its first full year in 2001-02. Items in the collection were changed three times during the year.

Smaller exhibitions during the year included The Star Spangled Manner, depicting the involvement of Americans in the early years of television in Australia and Off the Wall, an exhibition of poster art for rock music events, showcasing some of Australia's influential poster artists.

Outreach screening activities in Canberra included The Flicks, weekly screenings in ScreenSound theatre, Movies, Melodies and Moonlight, outdoor film screenings over summer, the Multicultural Film Festival, Science Week and Tropfest, an outdoor screening at the Carillon in collaboration with the National Capital Authority in Canberra.

External screenings included programs such as Salute to ASDA: 21 Years, Australia on Mondays-Astor Theatre, Melbourne-and participation in film festivals such as the St Kilda Film Festival, Melbourne International Film Festival, Sydney Film Festival, Dungong Autumn Festival (New South Wales), Proserpine Centenary Film Festival (Queensland) and Mornington Island Film Festival.

Public access to the ScreenSound Australia Collection

ScreenSound Australia's client centres in Canberra, Melbourne and Sydney serviced 2670 access requests through the year, representing an increase of 241 requests or ten per cent, from the previous financial year.

Staff also responded to a total of 9788 'initial' enquiries, a decrease of 802 or seven per cent from 2000-01. Research access to the collection is enhanced by improvements to the online collection database. More than half of access requests in 2001-02 were made electronically, an increase of 32 per cent from the previous financial year.

At least 65 to 70 per cent of Australia's population viewed or listened to some part of the National Collection during the year via media distribution channels. This equates to a minimum of 12-13 million people.

Major activities for this financial year included curating a component of, and providing footage for, costume and documentation materials for Spinning Around: 50 Years of Festival Records, a touring Powerhouse Museum exhibition that opened in Sydney in November 2001. Staff also provided sound recordings and footage for the Between the Sheets: A Century of Australian Music exhibition at the National Library of Australia, which opened in August 2001.

ScreenSound Australia provided a number of Australian television and radio program broadcasters with archival material from its collection including: Shackleton (Channel 4, United Kingdom), Four Corners (ABC), The Today Show (Nine Network), Logie Awards telecast (Nine Network), Sunday (Nine Network) and Long Way to the Top (ABC). It also contributed footage for the House of Representatives' 100 year commemorative documentary and CD ROM, House of the Nation.

Visitors to ScreenSound Australia exhibitions, presentations, screenings or events increased by 25 per cent from the previous financial year, representing 97 164 visitors. Attendance numbers at programs external to Canberra increased by 106 per cent to 75 369 people, and 342 000 people viewed or listened to one of ScreenSound's collection-based products, a decrease of four per cent from the previous financial year.

Major touring exhibitions for ScreenSound Australia for the 2001-02 financial year included Big Screen: A Celebration of Australian Cinema, which visited 24 regional centres in all States and the Northern Territory during 2001-02 and was seen by an audience of 31 366 people. The exhibition was presented in partnership with the Australian Film Commission and supported by the National Council for the Centenary of Federation and the Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts.

Graph 10: Visitors to ScreenSound Australia's Canberra premises

International screenings events included Gallipoli (1980) and The Man From Snowy River (1981)--with an audience of 1300 people in Hanoi; Pearl of the South Seas (1926)--screened at the Margaret Mead Film and Video Festival in New York; The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith (1978)--screened at the Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles; and a program of eight Indigenous films screened at the Musee de L'Homme in Paris.

During the financial year, ScreenSound also participated in collaborative screenings including an Indigenous film seminar with the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies; Tracking Kultja screenings and workshops with the National Museum of Australia; Wildscreen, an environment film festival; and the Canberra Short Film Festival.

ScreenSound Australia made a record number of educational presentations to booked groups totalling over 41 000 visitors (mostly students). More than 5000 independent visitors also attended the Introducing ScreenSound presentations and the Travelling Film and Sound Show entertained 730 people at Corowa, 5933 people at Floriade and 1315 people at the National Folk Festival in Canberra.

ScreenSound Australia added 12 new products to its range including Bayside Reflections Part Two: The Top End (video); Cops, Spies & Private Eyes on Australian Television 1956-2001 (video); The Man from Hong Kong (1975, DVD); Nellie Melba: Aria and Song (CD); Dick Parry--Tasmania's Yodelling Hillbilly (CD); and Don't Worry Baby, They'll Swing Their Arses Off (publication). Twenty-two compiles of regional footage were also produced to accompany Big Screen 2001.

Evaluations

Client service

Formal feedback from ScreenSound Australia's clients during the year included 51 letters complimenting staff performance, programs and technical services and one written complaint in relation to the quality of the content of one of the organisation's products. Staff dealt promptly with this complaint, offering an alternative product in exchange.

ScreenSound conducted a review of its Service Charter during the year in consultation with stakeholders and clients, assessing the relevance and effectiveness of the document, and reviewed and updated its Access and Public Programs policy to ensure current needs are addressed.

 

Document ID: 12491 | Last modified: 6 February 2008, 9:44am