Archiving on the Edge: Lessons from History, Opportunities with AI

The history of film and television archiving began with pioneering institutions like the Cinémathèque Française and MoMA's Film Library in the 1930s, which established the foundation for systematic preservation of moving images. The integration of library science principles transformed these collections from inaccessible vaults into organized, searchable repositories through standardized cataloguing and metadata systems. The digital revolution made digitization a core archival activity, enabling broader access while protecting fragile originals, while advances in conservation science led to climate-controlled facilities and proper storage materials that can preserve film and magnetic media for centuries. Today, artificial intelligence represents the next frontier, offering automated cataloguing, transcription, and analysis capabilities that promise to connect diverse new audiences with our audiovisual heritage through intelligent search, automated translations, and personalized discovery tools. What lessons from the past will help us navigate this incredible moment as we look into the future?