FNMA Archiving Resources

Overview

The Archives of First Nations community media organisations form a unique record of First Nations community media activities, and of First Nations law, culture, language and histories.  First Nations media organisations are committed to preserving their Archives for future generations through organising the Archives professionally as well as digitising media which is at risk due to media deterioration and player obsolescence. 

First Nations Media Australia (FNMA) has been working with these organisations since 2013 as well as with national and State/Territory collecting and cultural institutions to support the preservation of these unique and culturally important Archives.  The collaborations led to the development of the National First Nations Media Archiving Plan in 2014.

Further work by FNMA has led to the development of training resources and templates to support the archive work of First Nations media organisations, including standards for metadata and digital formats for digitised media (See link to the online Toolkit below and the resources on this legacy page).

Deadline 2025

All tape-based formats created in the 20th century are now obsolete. Tape that is not digitised by 2025 is at risk of being lost forever.  The National Film and Sound Archive's Deadline 2025 document sets out the problem, with all Archives needing to plan the resources, staff hours and priorities for digitisation of their collections by 2025. 

Archiving Resources Toolkit

Building on this Resources page, FNMA has now established an interactive Archiving Resources Toolkit as a free resource for use by First Nations not-for-profit community organisations to support archiving and cultural management of community media collections.  It contains guides, which you can either view online or download, info sheets and templates covering most aspects of archiving, including planning, cataloguing, digitising and sharing your collection.

The resources in this toolkit are grouped according to the 6 Steps for Developing First Nations Community Media Archives. 

Conditions of Use of Toolkit:

1) This Toolkit is for use by First Nations community media organisations and other First Nations not-for-profit community organisations only (Contact FNMA to discuss any other usage);

2) All resources in this Toolkit are copyrighted to First Nations Media Australia and may not be used for commercial purposes

3) While all care has been taken in the preparation of the resources and templates in this Toolkit, they are intended to provide general information only. They are not a substitute for specific technical, legal or other professional advice. No responsibility can be accepted by First Nations Media Australia, its staff, volunteers or Board of Directors, for any errors, omissions or inaccuracies, or for any known or unknown consequences that may result from reliance on any information provided in the resources.

Cultural Framework

The Archiving Resources are framed within two basic principles underpinning First Nations community media Archives:

• In the management of First Nations media archives, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledge and Law are the guiding principles.

• Local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are essential cultural authorities at the centre of all decision making associated with management of the archives.

Please note: The usage of these resources is approved for First Nations community media organisations and Archives only. Contact First Nations Media Australia to discuss usage outside of that sector.