Many archives continue to rely on ¼” open-reel and compact audio cassette decks that are no longer manufactured, yet remain essential for preservation and access work. These machines are often fragile, variably maintained, and increasingly difficult to replace, making basic in-house maintenance and informed operation critical to avoiding damage to both equipment and collection materials.

This one-hour webinar provides an overview of routine maintenance, operational best practices, and common playback issues associated with legacy audio tape equipment. Topics include tape path cleaning, transport inspection, handling considerations for fragile or degraded media, and format-specific risks unique to open-reel and cassette playback. The session does not teach repair techniques. Instead, it is designed to help participants:

-- Keep audio playback equipment in reliable working order
-- Identify common problems before they result in media damage
-- Recognize warning signs that indicate when specialized service is required

This webinar emphasizes practical, preservation-oriented decision-making to support safe, effective playback of legacy audio formats in archival settings.

_________________________

This is the second in a series of sessions focused on the care, maintenance, and troubleshooting of legacy equipment. While this series will not train you to become a repair technician, it will introduce basic maintenance practices, help you identify common issues and simple fixes, and offer guidance on diagnosing when equipment should be sent for professional repair.

These workshops always take place on a Thursday. Possible formats include presentations plus a panel discussion and hands-on teaching. More can be developed as we gain experience. We don’t aim at experts. Usually, no previous experience is required. Advanced levels are marked as such and will provide knowledge for those who want to explore topics into more depths. The number of participants vary depending on the nature of the specific workshop, but is generally be limited to enhance knowledge transfer and discussion. No fee is charged, but participants have to register and places are limited. Information on how and when to register will be posted in the online calendar.

Betacam and DV playback equipment present unique maintenance and troubleshooting challenges. This one-hour webinar offers an overview of basic care and operational considerations for legacy Betacam and DV decks.

The session will address routine maintenance, common playback and transport issues, safety considerations, and format-specific challenges. The session is not intended to teach repair techniques, the webinar is designed to help participants keep machines operating reliably, identify common problems, and assess when professional repair or replacement is necessary.

______________________

This is the fifth in a series of sessions focused on the care, maintenance, and troubleshooting of legacy equipment. While this series will not train you to become a repair technician, it will introduce basic maintenance practices, help you identify common issues and simple fixes, and offer guidance on diagnosing when equipment should be sent for professional repair.

In March 2026, FIAF will join forces with the Cinémathèque française and the Fondation Jérôme Seydoux-Pathé once again to offer a short training course (in English and French) aimed at professionals in FIAF archives and beyond. The general theme of this specialized course is still "Programming Film Heritage", and will once again be taught by programming experts from the global network of FIAF archives and other distinguished professionals in a relevant field. This 11th edition of the Winter School will take place on-site only, at the Fondation Jérôme Seydoux-Pathé and at the Cinémathèque, on 9 and 10 March 2026, just before the Cinémathèque française festival (11-15 March 2026).

The classes (a mixture of lectures, workshops and round-table discussions) will be taught by programming experts from the global network of FIAF archives, and other distinguished professionals in a relevant field. Note that presentations will be delivered in English or French, with simultaneous translation available throughout the course. FIAF's Programming and Access to Collections Commission will lead one of the sessions.

Note that registration for the 2026 FIAF Winter School are open until Wednesday 4 February or earlier if the course is full (which is rather likely).

U-Matic remains a critical format for many archives, with aging machines and complex mechanical systems that demand careful handling. This one-hour webinar introduces core maintenance and diagnostic concepts for legacy U-Matic playback equipment.

_________________________

This is the fourth in a series of sessions focused on the care, maintenance, and troubleshooting of legacy equipment. While this series will not train you to become a repair technician, it will introduce basic maintenance practices, help you identify common issues and simple fixes, and offer guidance on diagnosing when equipment should be sent for professional repair.

The institutions behind the Summer School have come together once again in order to renew and strengthen their long lasting cooperation, a bond that aims to pursue the spread of film preservation and conservation through the international community. Specialists, film archive staff and students that are looking forward to experience the complete restoration workflow in our experienced film restoration laboratory, are more than welcome to apply.

Applications are open until 15 February 2026. Program and application form can be downloaded on L'Immagine Ritrovata website.

The Digital Archives Summer School is a 5-day, practice-oriented course aimed at people working in audiovisual archives who are interested in enhancing their knowledge about digital environments and processes related to digital archives. In the fourth edition, we will focus on digitization processes and the technical metadata that they generate. We will hear input lectures on topics such as planning and prioritization, evaluation, and disposal of digitized material. There will also be an introduction to cataloguing with a focus on technical metadata. We will be guided by the resources of the Cataloguing and Documentation Commission of the FIAF. The final part will deal with data governance in the field of Artificial Intelligence. We will learn how to set up our own open AI instance with relatively little effort.

The "Digital Archives" Summer School is organized by the Filmuniversität Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF in collaboration with the Bundesarchiv and FINA, as well as with support from FIAF, which will award scholarships of 500 EUR each to five Summer School participants. Applications for these scholarships are open until 8 May.