In 1958, the Department of Public Education of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico founded the Radio and Television Service –WIPR– one of the first public, educational stations in Latin America. In time, this innovative operation became the Puerto Rico Public Broadcasting Corporation and now includes two television stations –WIPR TV, channel 6 and WIPM TV, channel 3– two radio stations, WIPR AM 940 and WIPR FM 91.3, as well as an Internet operation, www.tutv.gobierno.pr.

The PRPBC is part of and witness to history. In fifty years of existence, our stations have captured many important moments and in 1993 the Video Library was created. The Historic Archive, a television legacy collection created to organize, preserve and make these pieces of history available to the public, followed, in 1998. In fact, the quantity and variety of material was so ample, that an archival plan concluded not two but four archives would be needed to organize and house footage and audio produced by the stations. Other important issues needed to be addressed for the archives – Video Library, Historic, News and Radio– to be fully operational: the integration of resources, acquiring temperature and humidity controlled vaults, as well as video and audio transfer units for conservation and preservation purposes. Space to accommodate administrative and technical activities, as well as personnel was essential.

The creation, in 2003, of the Ángel F. Rivera Documentation Center introduced a viable and strategic approach for the development of the archival plan within a single umbrella operation. Upon the project’s completion, the archives will be accessible in a new and controlled environment setting designed to meet archival and broadcasting standards. The PRCPB is committed to the construction of the building that will house the Documentation Center facilities where material will be catalogued, conserved, preserved and made available to the public. Already, the television fiction and non-fiction materials produced since 1958 constitute a unique collection. The organization, cataloging and conservations activities have allowed the preservation of an important collection of Puerto Rico’s audiovisual heritage.

Purpose: The creation of the Ángel F. Rivera Documentation Center is a strategic solution, a new component in PRPBC’s digitalization plan that, from a digital environment, looks to integrate information systems and access, regulation, cataloging, climate-controlled vaults and preservation of the PRPBC’s four archives: Historic Archive, Radio Archive, News Archive and the Video Library.

The materials grouped in these archives are resources for the production of new radio and television contents and also have the potential for reprogramming in a digital and multi-channel environment.

Continues : Digitalization begins at the archive