#AskAnArchivist Day on Twitter

Today is the perfect day to ask the questions you have always wanted to ask about the Archives on Twitter:
Just add the hashtag #AskAnArchivist and the specific archives you want to know more about.

The SABC Radio Archives is available here: @SABCRadioArc

More info: What is #AskAnArchivist Day?

Tomorrow is #AskAnArchivist Day? What do you want to know about the archives? pic.twitter.com/vrpgIaWL8P

— SABC Radio Archive (@SABCRadioArc) October 4, 2016

Happy #AskAnArchivist Day!
📻💿📀🎙
Any questions for the Radio #Archives ?

— SABC Radio Archive (@SABCRadioArc) October 5, 2016

Retha Buys, Springbok Radio custodian, farewell - SABC Radio Archives

Retha Buys, archivist and custodian of Springbok Radio Revisited, is leaving the SABC Radio Archives at the end of December 2013.
We had a small function on 5 December in the SABC Radio Archives to say goodbye before everybody break for the holidays.

Little that we know that it was a good time to have said our goodbyes, because the next day it was time to say goodbye to our former President, Nelson Mandela.
The SABC Media Libraries had to jump in with shifts and requests and cataloging of material coming in in one of South Africa's landmark historical events!

More photos can be seen here: Retha Buys farewell - SABC Radio Archives.


Photos by Karen du Toit, Archivist in the SABC Radio Archives.

X-K FM archivist at the Kalahari Desert Festival

By Moshe Maghundu
Archivist and Librarian at SABC Platfontein 

X-K FM radio station covered the “Desert Festival “in the Kalahari.  The Desert Festival was on the eve of Human Rights Day in South Africa on 20 March 2013 at the //Uruke Bush Camp Adventure grounds.
Moshe Maghundu, as the archivist, got the opportunity to go with the crew and do recordings (thanks to William Heath) for the archives.

He is very grateful for every opportunity he gets to collect material for the X-K FM archive, as he is busy building the archive from scratch. Whenever a San-related event is taking place, he has to make arrangements with his managers to be able to go and collect archive material, whether it be audio, photos, arts or crafts.

He writes these blog posts which is an unique way to capture the history and the culture of the San people.

The Acting Premier of the Northern Cape, Grizelda Cjiekella opened the //Uruke Bush Camp, which was part of the official opening of the Kalahari Desert Festival. 

Acting Premier of the Northern Cape, Grizelda Cjiekella

Those who attended the festival appreciated her presence tremendously. 
The photo on top shows the the outlay of the //Uruke Bush Camp from a distance.

The //Uruke Bush Camp Adventure Project sign,
with names of sponsors

Opening ceremony

New technology made it possible to broadcast at the Kalahari Desert festival ("Innovation beyond boundaries").

This unique festival is the first of its kind in the Kalahari. It had its challenges in terms of the area and the environment. Many wanted to know where to find the place and whether it would be possible to broadcast in the middle of the red dunes. 

Moshe Maghundu with the Comrex

We did a live broadcast from the venue. The challenges included a MTN signal which went up and down, but we as the training personnel discovered that I had to lift up the Comrex while they were broadcasting. 

We were surprised to see so many people that came to our tent just to be with us and listen to the languages we use. 

X-K fm made history by broadcasting in the three San languages:
Xun, Khwe and Naro (San language from Botswana, Gantzi)

It was very interesting hearing all three SAN languages speaking to each other on air. 
Left is a Naro speaking person, middle is !xun speaking and right is Khwe speaking. The different languages have some overlapping words, some with different meaning, and some with the same meanings. 
We had a very long day of interesting broadcasting. 
We made history!

The Upington dance group taking a lead by performing their dance

Andriesvale Kalahari dance group

The sons of the late Dawid Kruiper doing their performances, and the group from Platfontein singing for them, being in very good spirit. 

Botswana traditional dance group from  Gantzi 

Botswana traditional dance group from  Gantzi 

The Botswana traditional dance group from  Gantzi is part of a SAN group from Platfontein that I have limited contact with. They performed different dances but we could identify their performances to be the same as those of the other SAN groups. This group had to travel a day long from Botswana to be with their SAN colleagues. 

The disabled Namibian artist called Kadawaka playing his instrument

Platfontein Khwe traditional dance group

The Platfontein Khwe traditional dance group performed a magical performance while all could shout and sing with them. The audience wanted them to occupy the stage for long,  but time would not allow.

Platfontein! Xun traditional dance group  

School choir

The school choir did an excellent job, which will not be forgotten.

Chris Mpisi with Pops Mohammed getting ready for the day and performance

Pops Mohamed

Pops Mohamed made his appearance at the festival. His music career is revered by all. 
Every one was waiting to see Pops on the stage. It was well worth the wait!


Blog post by Karen du Toit, Afrikaans Archivist at SABC Radio Archives

Wordless Wednesday - Sound Archivist with "records" t-shirt

Inspector Archivist, that is....

An archivist wear many hats.  We are audio editors, researchers, catalogers, and historians, among other things.  But personally I enjoy the investigator hat a lot!  We often get inquiries in the SABC Radio Archives asking for details of signature tunes, which might sound simple at first, but if the request starts with: Years ago, I am not sure when, there was a program, I am not sure on which station, and I think the presenter was...., then the investigative hat gets dusted and worn.  I recently had such a request, and by following every smallest lead, we cracked the code.  The client couldn't give me enough detail to put me on a definite trial, but played what he could remember of the tune on the piano and e-mailed me the mp3.  This I took to Frans Erasmus, of the Springbok Radio Preservation Society, and he immediately recognized the tune, since he, well, knows almost everything regarding Old Time Radio in our country.  We then compared it with what he definitely knew were some of the tunes of the mentioned show, and alas, we found a match and I could give our client the right details.

One thing I learnt from this venture, is that there is always somebody who remembers, you just need to keep on asking and searching!

Retha Buys

Senior Archivist: Springbok Radio

Tel: +27 11 714 2772

E-mail: springbokradio@sabc.co.za

www.springbokradio.co.za

Passion is born

It is confirmed, I am passionate about my work...  how I know...?  Easy!  When an archivist runs down the corridor with the reel of a well-known Springbok Radio Commercial and gets a kick out of the fact that is was recorded on his/her birthdate, you know it is passion!  I found the reel of the 1975 Chevrolet (Braaivleis, Rugby, Sunny Skies and Chevrolet...), and yes, it was recorded on my birthday!  I feel honored!



Retha Buys, SABC Radio Archives

Dusty Tales

Blowing the dust of an old tape and discovering a Springbok Radio label is always a chocolate-moment for me, needless to say that I am a choc-o-holic, but also a Springbok Radio-o-holic, if something like that exists.  I started the dirty task of sorting through some old tapes donated to us by a production house today, and, although I am sneezing my way though the tapes, I am also finding interesting material, like the audition tape of Burg Burger, not a Springbok Radio program, but nevertheless a gem in the Old Time Radio collection.  There are a couple of tapes with the Springbok Radio label, and I can't wait to listen to the contents.
That is indeed one challenge when working with old material - information about the recording is sometimes scarce, and you have to research and research and search some more to find the details!  But, like a true archivist, I won't give up!  See you at the other side of the dust-heap!

The Weekly Archivist interview: English Archivist

Phindile Maringa

The SABC Radio Archives has Archivists who focus specifically on a specific radio station and/or an indigenous language. This is the last interview as part of a series of interviews where they answer the same questions addressed to them.

It is a way of getting a better understanding of what an Archivist do, as well as getting a better insight into the scope of our collections.

The Archivist answering the questions this week is Phindile Maringa. She is the archivist for SAFM. She has been with the Radio Archives for nearly 3 years.

Phindile, please tell us a little bit about yourself. (Where you grew up, where and what you studied and your work experience before you joined the SABC Radio Archives)

I was born at Elim, Waterval in the Limpopo province, and have studied at the University of the North. I have acquired a B.A and B. Honors in Media and Communication studies. I have worked for Heinemann publishers as a publishing assistant and David Krut publishers as a communication officer.
I started working for SABC through a graduate programme, in the TV programme Archives on the 14th of February 2008. I joined SABC Radio Archives on the 1st of August 2008 as an English Archivist.

Please tell us about a normal day in your studio. What material do you work with?

My normal day in the studio involves recording, editing, cataloguing, quality checking, labeling, filing and priority is given to drama.

Do you struggle with technical difficulties?

At times yes, but with people ready to assist at all times makes it easier to deal with all difficulties.

If you have an anecdote about a specific piece of interesting audio material, please share it with us.

This is a tough one, as there is a lot of material! I have to mention the interesting audio of a book reading “Long walk to freedom” about Nelson Mandela and Africa’s greatest entrepreneur, about how the richest people in Africa get where they are today. Above all I had a chance to listen to the voice of Johann Greyling (colleague), an interview with him ten years back, about the Nandos advertisement.

Tell us why you enjoy doing the work that you do

Working with information has been an area of interest to me. This is complemented by using technology in the process of preserving this information.


Related posts:
The Weekly Archivist interview: Sport Archivist
The Weekly Archivist interview: Channel Africa collection
The Weekly Archivist interview: Ikwekwezi FM
The Weekly Archivist interview: Music
The Weekly Archivist interview: News and actuality
The Weekly Archivist interview: Afrikaans
The Weekly Archivist interview with the Manager of the SABC Radio Archives


Questions and blog post by Karen du Toit, Afrikaans Archivist in the SABC Radio Archives.

The Weekly Archivist interview: Afrikaans Archivist in the SABC Radio Archives: Karen du Toit

Karen du Toit
SABC Radio Archives

The SABC Radio Archives has Archivists who focus on specific collections for future preservation for our cultural heritage, rebroadcasting and research. This is part of a series of weekly interviews where we will all answer the same questions addressed to us.

It is a way of getting a better understanding of what an Archivist do, as well as gets a better insight into the scope of our collections in the SABC Media Libraries.

The Archivist answering the questions this week is Karen du Toit. She is a member of the cataloguing Team in the SABC Radio Archives. She focuses on the Afrikaans collection, which mostly comprises of the Afrikaans radio stations of the South African Broadcasting Corporation. She has been with the Radio Archives for 6 years.

This week I am answering my own questions, as were addressed to all of the other archivists.
My Life and career.

Education:
I grew up in Kempton Park where I went to school.
I acquired a Library and Information Science degree in 1988 at the Randse Afrikaanse Universiteit, now called the University of Johannesburg (UJ). In 2001 I completed a BA Afrikaans Honors at UJ, and in 2005 I completed a BA Information Science Honors, also at UJ.
Career:
I started to work as a librarian in 1989 at the Transvaal Provincial Administration in the Library and Museum Services, where I helped indexed and catalogued the books being sent to all the provincial libraries.
After that, in 1990, I started to work as an Archivist at the SABC in the SABC News Archives. We worked in shifts and edited catalogued and classified audio-visual material of broadcast news. We also had to do requests for journalists and producers.
In 1998 I started to work as a Reference Librarian in the Newspaper Cutting section of the SABC Information Library. It involved the Digital selection and cataloguing of newspaper articles to make it electronically available to the journalists and producers.
In 2005 I got the job of the Afrikaans Archivist in the SABC Radio Archives. It combined my love for the Afrikaans language and literature beautifully with my passion for information mining. As an archivist I have to make sure that the broadcasted material of today will still be available as a cultural heritage for the generations to follow!
Personal Life:
I got remarried again seven years ago, and now I have a toddler of two and a half, as well as a teen of nearly eighteen.  We stay in Roodepoort. We enjoy the reconstructed family life tremendously now with the little one!

Please tell us about a normal day in your studio. What material do you work with?

Each archivist is a specialist on his own field of focus, because we are only one Archivist which focuses on a language or radio Station. In my case it is Radio Sonder Grense. My days do not look the same. I have to verify the existing collection. I have to catalogue and add new material to our collection. I also need to catalogue different formats, such as min-discs and reel-to-reel tapes, and have to convert it digitally to CD or to Dalet, a Digital Audio System. I have to help with requests if the relevant request team member is not available or when there are a crisis.
I also help with our Web 2.0 presence of the SABC Media Libraries. We have Facebook and Twitter accounts, as well as a SABC Media Libraries website and a blog that needs constant updates and content.

Tell us more about the collection you focus on and the scope of material you need to preserve.

My collection consists of Afrikaans audio and broadcast material going back as far as 100 years.
The collection consists of material from Die Afrikaanse Diens, Radio Suid-Afrika  and Afrikaans Stereo of previous years. Since 1996 it called Radio Sonder Grense. We also have audio recordings done in the studio, as well as recordings in the field, such as Afrikaans festivals and interviews.
I still get a kick out of listening to poets reading their own poetry that was recorded long ago. They have of course died long ago as well, but they left us with this valuable legacy!

Do you struggle with technical difficulties, and if so, what?

As audio archivists, we always have an issue with the correct recording and transfer rates, as well as getting the most perfect storage bit rates. There is also the issue of restoration vs destruction of our audio collections. How far do we need to restore our collection, before we actually start to damage it more? New software comes on the market, but we do not always get access to it because of budgetary constraints.
I am also looking forward to the Digital Library project which will digitize our collections. It wiull solve many of our issues with the different formats and it becoming obsolete.

If you have an anecdote about a specific piece of interesting audio material, please share it with us.

I hear interesting audio material every day. This week I catalogued the 2002 interview with Isidor Davis, a former archivist here at the SABC, who tells of how the SABC recorded messages from South African soldiers during World War Two. They did the recordings on acetate records. When the shelling and fighting got very bad, the needle jumped too much, and they could not record. We still have that recordings in our archives, and the BBC were also very interested in acquiring it.

Tell us why you enjoy doing the work that you do.

I love working with historical material that I know is of great heritage value. I also love hearing stories and interviews with inspirational people. I learn new things every day.
How many people also can say that they get to listen to radio dramas and poetry as part of their job? That is the best!


Related posts:
The Weekly Archivist Interview with the Manager of the SABC Radio Archives
The Weekly Archivist Interview: acetate restoration in the SABC Radio Archives
The weekly archivist interview: Sound engineer in the Radio Archives
The weekly archivist interview: Ikwekwezi FM
The weekly archivist interview: Music archivist
The weekly archivist interview: News and actuality
The weekly archivist interview: Sport archivist
The weekly archivist interview: Channel Africa collection

Interview with an intern at the SABC Radio Archives: NOKUTHULA MZELEMU

Nokuthula Mzelemu
SABC Radio Archives

The SABC Radio Archives has acquired the services of four interns since March of this year. The interns are here for a couple of months to acquire valuable skills, but also to help with the workflows in the SABC Radio Archives. They have changed the way the radio archivists work.

NOKUTHULA MZELEMU is a qualified SOUND DESIGNER.

Questions are addressed to the intern to understand the type of skills that they have to offer, but also get a better understanding of what they are doing now here in the SABC Radio Archives.

­Please tell us about your personal history as well as your studies. How did you become an intern here at the SABC?

My name is Nokuthula Mzelemu, born and raised in Katlehong which is in the East Rand. Started my school career in 1995 at Germiston High School and matriculated in 2006 at Germiston High School. My passion for the entertainment industry led me to study film at The South African School of Motion Picture Medium and Live Performance “AFDA”. I obtained my Bachelors Degree in Sound Design in 2010. Studying at a film school really helped or gave me a hint rather on what it is that is expected in a working environment. After graduating I then spent the rest of 2010 doing a bit of travelling which was a blessing because it gave me time to really research and try find the best job for me. When a friend of mine sent me an email informing me of this internship opportunity I knew that this was it. I then applied and prayed hard and as always God heard me and I got the call after the interview process that I had made it. 

What does your job entail here at the SABC?

I am a sound archivist and by that I help preserve and store material for future use. My job entails me to collect old material which has been saved on a mini disk. I then re-record the music and interview part of the radio show onto Dalet; whilst that is happening I check the levels and adjust them before saving it on the public server for my senior archivist to make use of. I also help with the airchecks (recording of radio programmes that have been identified to be archived), as well as the printing of the different radio programmes onto cd.

What have you learned already while you have been here?

Having a Sound Design background has helped me, but being here has helped me realize that the programs we watch on TV, or hear on the radio are actually stored and re-used for future use. I have learned to work with different people such as my team mates and my senior archivist. I have also learnt to work on a deadline and because the shows I listen to were recorded few years back I am also learning a thing or two about our musical history.

What suggestions do you have for us with regards the preservation and digitization of our audio collections?

Moving from mini disk to cd is a good idea. I think if we had to save time because with time and technology changing cd’s will probably not be used in the future. I think if we could build a hard drive with huge space capacity then it would save a lot of time and space, as space will run out with all the cd’s being kept. If everything gets saved onto the hard drive it lessens the chances of anything bad happening to the content being stored.

Please tell us of any interesting anecdote or funny story with regards your internship here at the SABC

We shall call this story “OUR FIRST PAY CHEQUE”: It all started when all the interns from different departments had speculations about our pay day; we were all so exited…. Mbali, Obakeng, Thakhani and myself had already started planning what we were going to buy (this was the1^st big pay cheque for some of us) so when the day came (the day we assumed was pay day) and nothing happened we were all so disappointed. But not to worry because the actual day came and we received sms’s from our different banks. We were so EXITED; calling each other in the morning even treated ourselves to some “expensive” lunch. But sadly one of my fellow team mates didn’t get paid on the same day as us because he had got his banking details wrong. So it was funny as we laughed at him and he would get exited and u could just see the “hope” he had in his eyes with every sms he got. Hahaha “no names mentioned” but none the less he did get paid (after all of us had spent the entire last cent we had). Then at the end the joke was on us.

What are you planning to do after this?

At the end of this 10 month internship program I hope to have familiarized myself with the different sound departments of the SABC. I then plan on taking any job opportunity that may come my way.

Related posts:
SABC Radio Archives: Interview with the intern: Thakani Ramufhufhi
Interview with an intern at the SABC Radio Archives: Obakeng Phiri

Questions and blog post by Karen du Toit, Afrikaans Archivist in the SABC Radio Archives.

The Weekly Archivist interview with the Manager of the SABC Radio Archives

Bennie Jacobs
SABC Radio Archives

The SABC Radio Archives forms part of the SABC Media Libraries. Archivists specialize in specific areas/languages of expertise with regards the audio collections being kept in the Archives. There are also Archivists who focus on requests, and we have an archivist who focuses on sound restoration.

This is part of the weekly interviews that will try to pose the same questions to each of the Archivists.
Bennie Jacobs is the Manager of the Radio Archives. He was the news and actuality archivist before he was promoted to manager.
He has been with the SABC Radio Archives for 13 years.

Bennie, please tell us a little bit about your life and career.

I was born in Clydesdale, an area in the Free State. We moved with family to the Transvaal, to be specific we moved to Kliptown; then to Eldorado Park and later we moved to Rust–Ter–Vaal in Vereeniging where I am still based. I studied at PU for CHE at the Vaal Campus for a Teaching Qualification. My work experience before SABC was teaching.

Please tell us about a normal day in your office. What tasks do you give priority to?

Managing the operations of the Radio Archives.

Tell us more about the collection in the SABC Radio Archives and the scope of material that need to be preserved.

 The archivists interviewed would have made you aware of the vast collection that is in the Radio Archives. I would want to talk about what we don’t have of which it is very crucial for us to acquire. The content that we don’t have much of in the Radio Archives is material that the SABC never covered during the apartheid years. It is material that dealt with the struggle against apartheid, for an example we don’t have actuality on June 1976, The Women’s March of 1956, actuality on Steve Biko and some of Radio Springbok material that were not archived. As the Radio Archives we are trying hard to rectify the situation by searching for the material. If there is any one that has such kind of material please donate it to the SABC. We will preserve the material.

Tell us why you enjoy doing the work that you do.

The people that I work with are passionate about the work they do in the Radio Archives, and this really gives me reason to be at work every day. The content that we work with is very informative, and we believe in doing the best for our clients.

Related posts:
The Weekly Archivist Interview: acetate restoration in the SABC Radio Archives
The weekly archivist interview: Sound engineer in the Radio Archives
The weekly archivist interview: Ikwekwezi FM
The weekly archivist interview: Music archivist
The weekly archivist interview: News and actuality
The weekly archivist interview: Sport archivist
The weekly archivist interview: Channel Africa collection

Questions and blog post by Karen du Toit, Afrikaans Archivist in the SABC Radio Archives.

Report about the British Library Audiovisual Archiving Training Workshop at the SABC

The British Library has received support from the World Collections Programme to run a course on sound and audiovisual archiving in South Africa. Participants for the programme were drawn from the SABC Regional branches and from broadcast archives in other southern African countries.
                    - (Dr Janet Topp Fargion, Lead Curator, World and Traditional Music of the British Library)

Report by Elizabeth Mate, Archivist, SABC Radio Archives, who had the privilege to attend the workshop.

The British Library Audiovisual Archiving Training Workshop started from the 28th 0f March to the 1st of April 2011, in the M5 studio of the SABC. 

The first two days was with Will Prentice (Head of Technical Services, Sound and Vision) where we focused on the brief history of analogue audio and a few processes of digitization. He spoke about the qualities of audio (mav, mp3, vma) whereby he advised us, as archivists to always consider the original. In this case it will be wav, for it is not compressed like mp3 which throws out a lot of data.  We were showed how to clean the tape and cassette machines and how to demagnetize the machines. He said it was a standard thing for every archivist before recording and cataloguing material every day.  We spoke about the actual storage areas of audio. It was agreed that space is a very huge problem for all archives.  We spoke about things which can be of great damage to our work such as air conditioning and water.  We also spoke about LP’s, CD’s reel-to-reel tapes and different types of analogue carriers.  We were shown how to adjust the pitch of sound on the cassette play back.

The last session was with Andrew Pearson (Maintenance Repair & Design Engineer, Sound and Vision), who did the introduction to video archiving. He showed us how many times a film move for us to see one picture. We focused on the qualities of video/film; and how colour was added to the black and white films.  He showed us how to adjust the video recorder to get the right colour of different colours on the bars of the TV monitor. We also spoke about sound adjustment; high light means brightness, and other distorting pitches. We dealt with video cassettes, their durability, and the processes it takes when bringing it to digitization. We were even taught how to open a video tape and fix the tape. We also touched on the use of Wavelab. It is a very important tool when it comes to transferring audio from both analogue audio carriers and digital ones.

During the Workshop, we were also advised that technicians from the Technical departments must not just phase away or throw away broadcasting equipment. They must work together with archivists to know what type of audio carriers still needed to be used.

We were advised that materials or audio which are on analogue carriers must be converted or transferred to digital carriers before equipments using these carriers are phased out.  The equipment is being phased out because it is no longer being manufactured.

I think the SABC is on the right track by introducing digitization in its audio and audiovisual archives.

Related post:
British Library Audiovisual Archiving Training Workshop

The Weekly Archivist interview: Ikwekwezi FM

Peter Raseroka
SABC Radio Archives

The SABC Radio Archives has archivists who focus specifically on a specific radio station and/or an indigenous language. This is part of a series of weekly interviews where they will all answer the same questions addressed to them.

It is a way of getting a better understanding of what we as archivists do, as well as getting a better insight into the scope of our collections in the SABC Media Libraries.

The Archivist answering the questions this week is Peter Raseroka. He is the archivist for Ikwekwezi FM (http://www.ikwekwezifm.co.za/portal/site/ikwekwezifm )

Peter, please tell us a little bit about your life. (Where you grew up, where and what you studied and your work experience before you joined the SABC Radio Archives)

 I have been with the Radio Sound Archives for 21 and 8 month years. The other10 years was working in the Record Library as a log typist, tapes clerk and music compiler for Radio Sesotho by then, now being call Lesedi FM.  I never worked for any other companies except the SABC from 1979, but did work as a restaurant assistant for some time, also at the SABC.
I was born in Johannnesburg, but grew up at Pretoria rural area call Winterveldt .
I matriculated at Tswaing High School in 1978.
I came back to Johannesburg in 1978 and my first employer was at SABC as a restaurant assistant. Four months down the line I was promoted to be a messenger. 
In the afternoons I was attending class of General Office Management with Management College at Johannesburg between 1979 and 1980. 
After completing my course in April 1980, I was promoted to the Record Library and my job description was as a typist clerk. In between 1983 to 1989 I was working as tape clerk and music compiler for Radio Sesotho .
In 2004 and 2005 I completed my Ministry course with South Africa – Extension Bible School at Roodepoort.
At the moment I am busy with my Archival Studies National Diploma with Unisa and I hope this is my final year.

Please tell us about a normal day in your studio. What material do you work with? Tell us more about the collection you focus on and the scope of material you need to preserve.

As an archivist my job mainly is to see that all the important programs of  Ikwekwezi FM from speech, education, religious, music, documentary, features, youth, and sports programs are catalogued and preserved in a good and safe place for re-broadcast and re-use by SABC management, ICASA, researchers, historians, education people, learners, government officials and the public at large.

Do you struggle with technical difficulties, and if so, what?

When talking about technical difficulties, to sum it up, it needs someone to learn it everyday because technology is far ahead of us. However, if I pick up any problem, I consult with those who have the expertise or skills of technology around SABC.
There is a saying in Afrikaans: “Agteros kom ook in die kraal” (the last one eventually also gets things done!)

If you have an anecdote about a specific piece of interesting audio material, please share it with us.
My most interesting story was from the Serial Drama call “Ngiyi Induna lapha” about an Induna, “a foreman” by the name of Sibiya who was too jealous and selfish.  He didn’t want other employees to share cigarettes with his white boss “Umlungu”. He is the only one who does that because cigarettes are not for black people; they are supposed to smoke BB covered with a brown paper. He is the only one to share with “Umlungu” because he is a foreman “Induna”. It is a very funny story!

Tell us why you enjoy doing the work that you do. 

I enjoy doing the archival job because I learn and get informed on a daily basis. Radio is a medium of information and I am very fortunate to work directly with it.

Related posts:

The weekly archivist interview: Music archivist
The weekly archivist interview: news and actuality
The weekly archivist interview: sport archivist

Questions and post by Karen du Toit, Afrikaans Archivist in the SABC Radio Archives.

Ask Archivists Day on June 9th 2011 on Twitter

#AskArchivists Day

Archivists are active on social networks, especially on Twitter. It is a great way to connect and to form intellectual bonds with archivists on a global scale. The SABC Radio Archives are also active on Twitter: @SABCRadioArc.

The Ask Away on #AskArchivists Day is another initiative on Twitter which is located by the hash-tag AskArchivists #AskArchivists. It is managed by Charlotte Jensen of the National Museum (National Museet) in Copenhagen (Denmark) & Anneke van Waarden-Koets of the Zealand Archive (Zeeuws Archief) in Middelburg (the Netherlands). Thank you for the inspiration, Archivists! We appreciate it!

On June 9th 2011 archives worldwide will connect and will answer any question addressed to them on Twitter. Already a number of Archives has put up their details on the open Google doc. The SABC Radio Archives have joined as well, and we try to follow Archives joining in with the #AskArchivists on Twitter.

I have copied the banner that they have made available on their blog AskArchivists, and have put it up on the post. The shortened link to it: http://bit.ly/gcsugx

Will you join us as well?

Karen du Toit

SABC Radio Archives

The Weekly Archivist interview: Music Archivist

Florence Moshatana
Music Archivist: SABC Radio Archives

The SABC Radio Archives has seven Archivists who specialize in specific areas/languages of expertise with regards the audio collections being kept in the Archives. A weekly interview is posted where the same questions are asked to each of the Archivists.

The Archivist answering the questions this week is Florence Moshatana. She is the Music Archivist. She has been with the SABC Radio Archives for 4 years.

Florence, please tell us a little bit about yourself. (Where you grew up, where and what you studied and your work experience before you joined the SABC Radio Archives)

I was born in Pimville, and grow up in Botlokwa district, Ha Phasha village. I began my music studies in 1993 at Madimba Institution of African music with the aim of learning African music. After completing my diploma, the only institution that was available to learn indigenous music was Rhodes University and the University of Venda. I  went to UNIVEN in 1994 to study music. I managed to obtain Bachelor of Arts in Music (BAMUS); Honours degree in music (BAHMUS) and a post graduate diploma in Education (PDGE) (music methodology). In 2004 I joined SAPS Band (Mpumalanga police band) where I played Euphonium and Alto saxophone. They perform indoor and outdoor; police parades; street matches and Polmusca festivals.

Please tell us about a normal day in your studio. What material do you give priority to?

My normal day in the studio involves recording, editing, cataloguing, quality checking and labels.
The material that I give priority to is music interviews, presentation and discussion.

Tell us more about your collection and the scope of material you need to preserve.

My backlog includes music and music programs from different radio stations such as SAFM and RSG.

Do you struggle with technical difficulties, and if so, what?

I do encounter challenges in Dalet, and sometimes Wavelab. Marius, our sound engineer, is always available to help.

If you have an anecdote about a specific piece of interesting audio material, please share it with us.

Music interview and performance: RSG Programme (Oppiradio): Frits Klaaste in conversation with Ishmael Pops Mohammed about Khoisan music, the history (language), instruments and the style of music. It is very valuable in terms of heritage value!

Tell us why you enjoy doing the work that you do.

I feel comfortable working in a music environment, being knowledgeable about serious and light music, challenges and problems experienced by musicians in the music industry and educators in the classroom. And also meeting researchers from other countries, such as the UK.

Related posts:
The Weekly Archivist interview: News and Actuality
The Weekly Archivist interview: Sport Archivist
The Weekly Archivist interview: Channel Africa collection

Questions and blog post by Karen du Toit, Afrikaans Archivist in the SABC Radio Archives.

The Weekly Archivist interview: Team Leader and Music Request Archivist

Cate Jele
SABC Radio Archives

The SABC Radio Archives, which forms part of the SABC Media Libraries, has Archivists who focus specifically on requests and on servicing of our clients. This is part of a series of weekly interviews where they will all answer the same questions addressed to them.

It is a way of getting a better understanding of what an Archivist do, as well as getting a better insight into the scope of our collections.

The Archivist answering the questions this week is Cate Jele. She is the Team Leader for the Request Team in the SABC Radio Archives, and she focuses on music requests as well as Ikwekwezi fm requests.
She has been with the Radio Archives for 12 years. She works very close with the request archivists to coordinate the daily research and requests coming in.

Cate, please tell us a little bit about yourself. (Where you grew up, where and what you studied and your work experience before you joined the SABC Radio Archives)

I was born some years ago in a township called Namakgale in Phalaborwa. I am the first child in a family of four. I studied a lot of things, amongst them is music. I personally do not see it necessary to mention titles. I worked for Top Teach Tutor center which was a branch of the college called SACTE as a lecturer for three years. When the government decided to merge teachers colleges, ours was also affected. It closed down in Feb 1998.
I then by God’s grace landed a post in the SABC in July 1998 for Assistant Archivist, please do not ask what it meant. But, then that was my title.


Please tell us about a normal day in your studio. What type of requests do you receive?

A normal day starts with requests like “In 1957 the SABC came to our school and recorded our school choir and I was a member of that.  I need a copy”. This request is of sentimental value to the person and I need to share in the passion in getting it. I always put myself in the client’s shoes. How will a feel if I do not get the recording? This always pushes me to go an extra mile. My job has made me realize qualities that were hidden in me e.g. of being a servant. I get fulfilled when I have helped; just the sound of a thank you on the other side just raps my day.

Tell us more about the collection you focus on and the scope of material you need to preserve.

90% of my time is dedicated to requests as I do requests for music and Ikwekwezi fm. 10% is shared amongst cataloguing, data cleansing and other projects. Should I call them extra mural activities?I have been in charge of the 78’s collection in the archives which I enjoyed as I would make a great deal of discoveries e.g. when I got hold of other works by the honourable Enoch Sontonga which are very valuable. I had to restructure my work looking at the majority of requests I get and the types of recordings requested for. I am now cataloguing school choirs in a hope to bring more smiles onto people’s faces.
The genre came in handy last year December when RSG requested Christmas carols by school choirs. I had more than enough to provide.

Do you struggle with technical difficulties, and if so, what?

The fact that we need to keep recordings at the best quality possible especially music, it becomes a problem when certain mediums becomes obsolete or when music is recorded on sensitive mediums such as vinyl’s or acetate tapes and they need to be doctored first before you use them, sometimes the quality is lost in the process or the music is just unusable.

If you have an anecdote about a specific piece of interesting audio material, please share it with us.

I have shared some already in the other questions. The music collections are a treasure. I remember listening to “King Kong musical” which I found amongst the 78’s. Listening to documentaries of Dr Yvonne Huskisson about our African Indigenous music are also very rewarding. The original sounds of African instruments; the women singing in the field; all these just remind one of who you are and how rich our history is. 

Tell us why you enjoy doing the work that you do.

I already have. ;-)

Related posts:
The Weekly Archivist interview: News and Actuality requests
The Weekly Archivist interview: Sport
The Weekly Archivist interview: News and Actuality
The Weekly Archivist interview: Channel Africa

Questions and blog post by Karen du Toit, Afrikaans Archivist in the SABC Radio Archives. 

The Weekly Archivist interview: News and Actuality Archivist

Markus Mmutlana
SABC Radio Archivist: News and Actuality

The SABC Radio Archives has seven Archivists who specialize in specific areas/languages of expertise with regards the audio collections being kept in the Archives. There are also Archivists who focus on requests, and we have a Sound Engineer that assists us with technical issues. There will be a weekly interview that I will try to pose the same questions to each of the Archivists.
The SABC Radio Archives forms part of the SABC Media Libraries at the SABC.

The Archivist answering the questions this week is Markus Moroke Mmutlana.
He has been with the SABC Radio Archives for 12 years, and before that he was working in the regions. Seven years of his service in the Sound Archives was spent in the Northwest region in Mafikeng.

Markus continues with his story:
In the Northwest Region I had to resuscitate the Motsweding Fm Sound Archives that had been dismantled when the Pretoria Broadcast centre closed down. I fortunately was one of the main clients of the Radio Archives there and knew what was expected of me to do. Therefore unpacking all the programs that were sent over there and arranging them in their former order was not much of a problem as I had been a regular client of the Radio Archives while in Pretoria. Yes, I needed help sometimes and Peter Raseroka had to come from Johannesburg Archives to give me that.
I believe it is also important to share this with you, that I came into the Radio Archives having a broad knowledge of how programs were made since I had been with Radio Operations for years. There I‘ve been a technical man for Sport broadcast; Current Affairs; Outside Broadcast and inside Studio Programs Recordings; Open Air Musical productions such as Setswana traditional music done in Botswana; and ended up as a specialist Drama Technical producer. I gathered much knowledge of equipments used in those fields. May be let me also add that there are some dramas I wrote that I have had to archive. You’ll realize that these must have taken place over some years, but to me it seems like yesterday.

Markus, please give us a little bit of biographical information. (Where you grew up, where and what you studied and your work experience before you joined the SABC Radio Archives)
I was born in Lady Selborne in Pretoria, raised up in Skilpadfontein, Marapyane near Settlers. I an ex Mamelodian (Mamelodi High School Student) and also a Bexo (Bethel Training College ex-student).  I studied as a teacher and never taught, but matriculated through private studies.  Before joining the SABC, please don’t ask me when, I worked as a dispatch clerk for a company that was known as Pretoria Wholesale Druggist. Where that company was is now the Two Way Skinner Street.

Please tell us about a normal day in your studio. What material do you give priority to?
As I am a news and actuality Archivist for RSG and SAFM I must always know what is brewing in the government and various political fields and parties to be abreast with some fresh stories that one can quickly digitize on CD and also catalogue and avoid pushing too much material into backlog. Other than that my priority now is to deal with the 1996 Truth and Reconciliation Reports on Radio Sonder Grense, the Afrikaans SABC Radio Station.  This is part of the backlog we have – I have now completed cataloguing the SAFM 1996 TRC reports.

Tell us more about your collection and the scope of material you need to preserve.
My backlog includes news and actuality programs dating as far back as 1994 to date. These sometimes include tributes and other informative programs or features annual lectures of some of our country’s heroes.
  
Do you struggle with technical difficulties, and if so, what?

I have long been in this technical field of audio productions and if there be some difficulties that I pick up is the ever changing technology that forces one to consult with those who have the expertise every time. For example the problem I picked up with batch conversions of sound on Dalet using a memory stick, then to Wavelab. This would give me a problem when I burning a CD by refusing to burn indicating that the sound have not been converted to the correct Hertz. And the other challenge was to use Powerpoint which I do not regularly use.

If you have an anecdote about a specific piece of interesting audio material, please share it with us.
My most interesting story was when I picked up a news item, as I was going through some Current Affairs tapes, where former president Nelson Mandela told the news reporter how he was arrested by the police man, Forster on his way from Durban to Johannesburg. On being asked what his name was, he said he was David Motsamai. He tells the story with such humor.

Tell us why you enjoy doing the work that you do.
I am convinced that I am busy with preservation of important information about our selves and our country which would be needed by our children’s children and interested groups for research in the future.                          

Questions and blog post by Karen du Toit, Afrikaans Archivist in the SABC Radio Archives

The Weekly Archivist interview: News/Actuality and Sport Request Archivist

Bernard Monyai
News, Actuality & Sport Archivist

The SABC Radio Archives has Archivists who focus on requests. This is part of a series of weekly interviews where they will all answer the same questions addressed to each of them.
It is a way of getting a better understanding of what an Archivist do, as well as getting a better insight into the scope of our collections in the SABC Media Libraries.




The Archivist answering the questions this week is Bernard Monyai. He is the News, Actuality and Sport Request Archivist. He works very close with the news and actuality journalists of radio and television at the SABC.

Bernard, please tell us a little bit about yourself. (Where you grew up, where and what you studied and your work experience before you joined the SABC Radio Archives)

I grew up in Ga-Matlala-a-Thaba between Mokopane and Polokwane districts of Limpopo and studied BA degree specializing in Politics, Information Science and English at the University of the same province. I also obtained an Honours degree in Information Science at Rand Afrikaans University (now called UJ). I had previously worked at the bank before joining SABC Radio Archives.

Please tell us about a normal day in your studio. What type of requests do you receive?

The first thing I do in the morning is to check my voice and e-mail messages for any new requests for previously broadcasted radio footage on politics and sports.

Tell us more about the collection you focus on and the scope of material you need to preserve.

News/actuality, current affairs and sports programmes are my specialty. I’m currently digitizing raw archival footage previously preserved on cassettes for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, containing more than a thousand minutes of audio.

Do you struggle with technical difficulties, and if so, what?

Yes, it depends on the nature of the difficulty such as playback or recording equipment, internet, Dalet, Microsoft packages, technical PC, etc. Fortunately we do have our own Sound Engineer (Marius) and the BIT.

If you have an anecdote about a specific piece of interesting audio material, please share it with us.

Former Malawian President, Hastings Banda on his arrival at London airport responded interestingly to questions from a certain journalist. His answers were like: “I’m not gonna answer that question”; “I’m not gonna tell you”, “Don’t ask me that question”, and so on.

Tell us why you enjoy doing the work that you do.

I like being aware and knowledgeable about South African audio history in particular and the world in general. But the best part for me is providing access to archival material to all kinds of people from all sorts of persuasions and professions. The SABC Radio Archives collection is quite educational and intuitive and I guess it’s also entertaining. We preserve current affairs programmes daily and that means we are almost always up-to-date.

Question and blog post by Karen du Toit, Afrikaans Archivist at the SABC Radio Archives.