Archivists who work with audiovisual records often find themselves confronting a challenge their counterparts who deal with traditional paper records do not have. They must often act as “bucket brigades”—chasing one “fire” after another as rapidly changing technology threatens to render the media formats storing audiovisual records obsolete and inaccessible.
What these archivists face is the daunting task of preserving—and continuing to make accessible—records that offer an immediacy not possible with the written word. Moments of history captured in sound and pictures allow you to immerse yourself in a different place and a different time. Archival institutions across the country contain millions of hours of sound recordings, motion picture film, and video recordings. This article focuses on the Nation Archives and Records Administration efforts in the field of Audiovisual preservation. It looks at the institutions history as well as the strides its made to continue to preserve much of the historical documentation of the United States government.