Latvian State Archive of Film, Photo and Audio Documents - History, the Present Time and the Visions of Tomorrow

We are honored to introduce ourselves as newcomers to the FIAT - IFTA "family".

What are we - LSAFFAD?

The archive in Latvia began to function in 1963. The mission of the foundation was the collection, preservation and providing of utilization in orders that has been prescribed by law of audiovisual documents - film, photo and audio records.

Till nowadays the archive has successful gone through many problems and has preserved very rich document collection and at the same time in very good quality. And all documents are available to all persons who are interested.

The working place and all depositaries of Latvian State Archive of Film, Photo and Audio documents is located in one place - in the green zone of Riga, Smerla street 5, LV - 1006, Latvia.

What is our wealth? Our wealth is the whole history of the nation in films, photo and audio records - the cultural historical heritage of our country, and the preservation and uninterrupted further collection is our sacred mission. The archive has film documents or films - features films, documentary films, film chronicles, educational films, advertising; all those films together contain 77230 store units and it makes approximately 19308 km film ribbons. The archive has video documents - 169 store units. In recent years this fund is replenished with approximately 2000 store units. The oldest film is a chronicle made in 1910, this chronicle shows the Russian Tsar Nikolai the Second visiting Riga. The archive can be proud that it preserves wide and unique film chronicle collection about the period of the first Latvian State sovereignty, that documents almost all of the remarkable social political and cultural life in Latvia in the 20s and 30s in the 20th century.

The film chronicle made in Soviet time and in Nazi Occupation shows tragically years in Latvia in the time of World War II. The full collection of motion picture journals "Soviet Latvia" shows the "triumphal procession" of Soviet power - the long rule period of half a century.

Eternal cultural historical value of the archive is existing fund of Latvian features films and documentary films, that is obvious testimony of the gift of the Latvian excellent film directors, cameramen and actors generation that bring the word of Latvia to the whole world. The archive stores 298 film posters. The archive also stores photo documents - respectively - photographs. Everyone can find in our depositaries not only classical photography, but also photography on the base of glass. Photographs make up 675464 store units, but the mentioned photographs of the base of glass make up 14917 store units.

Photographs made in 1865 where one can see the panorama of Riga and photographs that has fixed evidence of yesterday - this is the amplitude of storing photo documents in the archive. This photo collection reflects the activity of the supreme officials of our country and also the processes of every day life. The photo fund every year grows by 1400 store units.

The archive also stores audio documents - music records, dialogs, radio shows etc. It all together contains 24607 store units. We can find in our collection mechanical piano reels and the originals of the matrices and records from Latvian first sound recording factory "Bellacord Electra," and also the records of the plenary session of the Supreme Soviet. This collection every year grows by approximately 1500 new store units.

Who takes care of all the wealth?

We are 54 archivists and we every working day take care of all this wealth and help all interested persons to find out everything that they are interested in. The department of fund in archive is responsible for special professional inspection, processing and preservation of all archive's documents. The Photo, Audio and Film Departments are responsible for corresponding file of documents, for document completion and for client services. The main task of the Department of Digital Technology and Document Preservation is to introduce in practice new technology and we can say that this process goes successfully.

For better job organization in the archive serve Department of Job Organization and the Sector of Personal Management. The Department of Bookkeeping controls the salaries and the finances of the archive and the vitality of the archive insures the Department of Housekeeping Equipment. Responsible for all archive is director and the person who assists to director is deputy director.

We have to insure good quality of all storing values in the archive and we also have to insure the satisfaction of all interested persons who leave us and for insurance mentioned factors we use in a year 62 litres 96 % spirit, 2,5 km2 suede, 115 scotch tapes, 6 decalitres lisoformine, 25 kg disinfecting special matter S-320, till 250 VHS videotapes, 32 white cotton overalls, more than 20 titles of different kinds of stationary with a total weight of 270 kg, photo papers, photo films, chemicals and other things.

Who are our partners?

In 2001 the doors of the archive opened to 400 interested persons and they used 3782 store units from the fund of the archive. Who are they? All televisions of Latvia - the state and private TV, the high schools and schools of Latvia, research institutes, societies, film studios and individual researchers.

Our daily work is not only to keep in order existing fund and to serve the client, but already some years the archive makes by itself new video documents, photo documents and audio documents. Made documents are different enterprises and also special thematically series that are made by our employees. For example, our photographers are eternalized all educational institutions in Riga, public transport and others often seen things in our everyday life, but which none particularly notice but remember only when it has changed his appearance.

The archive has already for several years done research work and the popularization of the funds of the archive. Regular are publications of the employees of the archive in scientific journals and also in the mass media. In 1999 came the first archive's album, that started the series "Saglab_t sudrab_" ("Keep in silver") and with help of frames from film chronicles the album tells about Latvia during World War II.

Right now we are working on the 2nd volume of this book that is dedicated to years of "Stalinism" from 1945-1955.

The exhibitions from funds of the archive in the archive and in other places in Riga, Latvia and even abroad seems already usual.

The archive tries to go with the course of time and offers wide possibility to work very effectively with archive's documents. To find the necessary documents quickly it helps to have a digitized catalogue. We also offer copies of the documents in different formats. The wider become use of figures technology at present time we offer to receive copies of audio (records) and photo documents also in this format.

The finances of the archive

The archive receives the subsidies from the state and approximately 60 % from received subsidies goes to programs of preservation, and at the same time we hope that the our income will help to replenish our budget.

The archive's present problem

Unfortunately the archive must solve many problems. The reasons for the problems are different. One of the factors that cause trouble is legislation, respectively - disorder of this. The problem is that the state has not declared that a fixed number of copies of any audiovisual production - film or music records must be given to state preservation. And based on this the archive can not guarantee that all cultural historical evidence will be preserved for the next generations.

The next problem is the education of archivists. Our archive needs specialists with very specific education. But the number of archivists is little and that way the state has not formed training institutions for such specialists. And at the same time the state does not provide the financial resources for training abroad.

The characteristic of our archive is the necessity for high technical equipment and if it is not provided it is impossible to make the archive task even in normal level. Unfortunately the financial resources for development of technical equipment always are too modest. Based on that sometime we have to work with old, not very good techniques that do not insure the good preservation of the archive's documents.

The future visions of the archive

In spite of existing and possible problems, the archive moves forward to development and has undertaken to be a modern and contemporary audiovisual archive where all interested persons will be able to find every thing that they are interested in.

We also hope that we will continue the popularization of the archive's documents not only at the present level, but will increase it by offering to society various new books, audio and video records.

We also hope that in the future the archivists will be not only good specialists as they are today but also very good specialists, armed with the most modern technology and obligatory well paid.

The statistical data give evidences that almost only women work in the archive, You can see in our archive it is 50 on 50. But we have to be honest, we can not exist without Balts - 3. from left side - the college from Estonia. (1. from left - L. Majorova, personal manager of the archive; 2. from left - I. Ka_ep_ja, director of the archive; 4.from left - A. Vinklis, deputy director of the archive)

The collective of the archive in Baltics archives chief Meeting in the gallery of the archive.

We of course can and want to work very well, but at least once a year we go in for sport.