The Near Archive, a digital audio archive of community radio, is now available to the public.
Tonight at 6.30pm, Near Archive will be officially launched at the new Digital Audio Archive in Coolock Library, Dublin 13. Near Archive is a digital audio database of interviews, which were originally broadcast on Near FM’s flagship community affairs programme Northside Today between the years 2011 and 2016. The content reflects upon the themes of Irish Culture, Life and Experience with a particular emphasis on local arts and culture, local news, history, heritage and community events. The total number of archived pieces in this collection is 1,200.
Near Archive has been assembled with the input of expert partners including the Digital Repository of Ireland and Dublin City Council Library and Archive. In addition a cross-sectoral approach to archiving has been established through CRAOL, the national body for community radio.
The Digital Repository of Ireland provided early guidance on digital archiving best practices to Near FM during this project. DRI is very pleased that the archive has been launched – it is the result of much hard work and adds significantly to the community memory. Community Radio archives will ensure the voice of the ‘ordinary’ people will be recorded and available for future generations, free of charge.
Near Archive can be accessed by visiting www.archive.ie where content can be streamed or downloaded and runs on a Creative Commons license.
