1. History of the collection
Made possible by the industrial revolution, cinema emerged in the late 19th century but only began to acquire significant economic and commercial importance in the 1920s, particularly when technological advances made it possible to add sound to the moving image. The first sound film is the musical picture titled The Jazz Singer (1927), directed by Alan Crosland (1894-1936). This film revolutionised the industry and marked the beginning of a long period in which motion pictures become one of the most important artistic, economic and sociological features of the 20th century.
Other substantial changes have come about subsequently that have affected the film industry, particularly the appearance of television and a mass market of media and players for private consumption. This sparked the emergence of a powerful cultural industry in the last quarter of the 20th century. The media have changed as technology developed, and in a period of just 30 years have gone from images recorded exclusively on celluloid tape to the mass marketing of magnetic tapes (VHS, Beta, video 2000), followed by digital discs (DVD) and, finally, high-definition discs (Blu-ray), which have dominated the market in recent years.
Two years after the premiere of the aforementioned film, the term “audio-visual” began to be applied to cultural products in which moving pictures and sound were combined. Many libraries soon began to include them in their collections; first occasionally, as celluloid films, and then on a massive scale in the form of audio-visuals marketed on magnetic tapes and other media.
At the Biblioteca Nacional de España, the collection of audio-visuals was formed through the compulsory delivery of at least one copy of each videographic publication, in compliance with the Copyright Library act.
Today, these documents are processed in the Audio-Visual Service, part of the Department of Music and Audio-Visuals, a specialised unit created by the Biblioteca in response to the spectacular increase in the publication of these materials in Spain.
2. The holdings
The current collection of audio-visuals at the BNE comprises f video tapes (video 2000, Beta, VHS), DVD and Blu-ray, nearly all acquired through the Copyright Library act. Although modern, the collection is of great importance, as it preserves nearly the entire domestic production of audio-visuals over the past 30 years.
One of the characteristics of audio-visual documents is the speed with which both media and players become obsolete due to the whirlwind transformation prompted by technical advances and commercial practices. To address this problem, a digitisation project to ensure the preservation of all video tapes has been established within the BNE's preventive preservation programme. However, the mission of the BNE is not limited to the preservation and dissemination of audio-visual content but also of the original physical media.
The BNE's current collection of audio-visual media (DVD and Blu-ray) is a clear reflection of the domestic production of this new cultural and leisure industry. It an invaluable account of the creative capacity and audio-visual consumption habits of Spain, and can be put to good use by both sociologists and scholars of art and culture.
2.1 Audio-visual classification
The collection includes four large thematic blocks:
- Motion pictures
- Information and documentary audio-visuals.
- Musical audio-visuals.
- Multimedia
2.1.1 Motion pictures
This first block is the largest and is also in greatest demand by users due to the wealth and variety of its assets.
It includes:
- Silent films.
- Domestic and foreign films.
It is important to note the number of titles in all film genres, including the most important motion pictures in the history of the film industry, from its origins to the 21st century.
2.1.1.1 Television series
Titles of films comprising several episodes that were successful on the small screen. This section includes a number of Spanish, European and North American series.
2.1.1.2 Animated films
Generally targeted at children, but also young people and adults. The most significant collections include Japanese Manga cartoons and of course national and international productions.
2.1.1.3 Short films
This type of motion picture has become increasing popular in recent years and many industry professionals make short films. The audio-visual market is ideal for these productions because they are most often marketed solely on digital media and never reach the cinemas. Some digital discs include events dedicated to this type of film, while on other occasions “shorts” are marketed together with feature-length films.
2.1.2 Information and documentary audio-visuals
These types of documents include a wide variety of materials, although they are all in some way informational and educational. Initially, educational videos focused only on elementary education, but once acceptance was proven they were extended to all educational levels. The documentary and training audio-visual assets span all types of topics: cultural, historical, journalistic, sport, leisure, hygiene, travel and nature, relaxation techniques, etc.
In many cases, they are primary information sources, given that they live recording of the image and sound of important events and individuals from the world of politics, arts, literature or music.
2.1.3 Musical audio-visuals
As with commercial audio-visual publication, the BNE collection is dominated by three types of musical recording:
- Recordings of major shows. Some chamber and symphony orchestra concerts led by important conductors are commercialised, together with opera and ballet performances, recitals by vocal or instrumental soloists, zarzuelas, etc.
- Music videos. These are all the audio-visual creations that singers and musical groups produce to promote their new songs. Digital documents that are real anthologies of the music videos by certain artists are commonly found, combining music and plastic art.
- Live concerts by singers, pop, rock and modern music groups. As with classical music, the more commercial musical genres also publish audio-visuals with concerts by well known singers and groups, often recorded on tour, during commemorative shows or as charity events.
Access to the collection
The collection is grouped under two major blocks of call numbers:
- VD/ = For video tapes (regardless of the medium: Beta, VHS or Video 2000).
- DVD/ = For all audio-visuals on digital media.
Both can be consulted at the Biblioteca Nacional's Recoletos location.
There are other call numbers that consist of adding the letters AH (AHVD and AHDVD) and DL (DLVD and DLDVD) to the above call numbers. These call numbers indicate that they are duplicate or triplicate copies held at the Biblioteca Nacional's Alcalá de Henares location.
The copies with the AH call number can be consulted when the copy corresponding to the VD or DVD call numbers is unavailable. The copies with the DL call number are preservation copies and may not be consulted. Finally, there is the MDVD call number for documents on magnetic tapes that have been digitised as part of the aforementioned preventive preservation programme for audio-visual documents, and users may optionally consult them instead of the originals.
The audio-visual collection is accessible through the automated catalogue of the Biblioteca Nacional, either at the Library itself or on the library's website.
The catalogue includes two levels:
- Abbreviated description. This includes the essential data for the document: title, director, script writer, soundtrack composer, producer, actors, publication date and duration of the same, along with the physical characteristics. It sometimes includes a brief synopsis of the document.
- Complete bibliographic description. Includes, in addition to the foregoing data, the standardised points of access to the document in order to increase search options, including a classification by genre.
All audio-visual documents in Spanish are currently undergoing a detailed cataloguing process in order to provide the Spanish-speaking community with abundant information on directors, producers, actors and other artists involved in the complex creation of a film.
The BNE has printed a Spanish bibliography of audio-visuals; an annual bibliography that describes everything published during the year.
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