WEST GLAMORGAN ARCHIVE SERVICE

Description: West Glamorgan Archive Service is a joint service for the City and County of Swansea and the County Borough of Neath Port Talbot. The Archive Service holds still photographs relating to West Glamorgan from a variety of sources, including personal photographic collections and photographic records made by Swansea Council of building works and road improvements. From the 1930s, the Council began to make movie films of important civic events. At first the films were shot by contracted commercial firms, but in the late 1940s, a small film-making unit was set up in the central library. The surviving films in the archives date from the 1950s onwards: they are in the process (2005) of being digitised onto DVD for accessibility.
Website: http://www.swansea.gov.uk/westglamorganarchives
Keywords: Swansea; Neath; Port Talbot
Access: Digitised material will be available for reference without prior
booking. Access for disabled. Detailed catalogue in searchroom. See
www.archivesnetworkwales.info for collection level information.
Facilities: Viewing on premises. Duplicating.
Charges: Charges for research for broadcast productions. Charges for research for academic purposes. Charges for facilities and handling. A price list is available upon request.
Copyright: Copyright held for most films.

Video/Film: Video: 110 cassettes. Mayoral films 1985 - present; miscellaneous subjects, including copies of cine film and documentaries regarding Swansea.
Video components: VHS Video.
Film: 115 films are held. There are two main classes: Mayoral films, 1952-1983; miscellaneous subjects, from 1936 onwards, including visits of royalty, opening of public buildings, etc; amongst this category most notable is amateur footyage of the Mumbles train and the Swansea-Pontarddulais railway line. Also held are gifts of documentaries, newsreel etc., regarding Swansea, from TV companies (69 films and 58 videocassettes). 90% colour film, 10% black and white film. Amateur, documentary.
Film components: 16mm, positive film, negative film.

Notes: A small number of films await sorting and listing. These are not available for consultation until they have been properly arranged.
Other information: Handlists.
Conservation policy: Once accessioned, films and videotapes are kept indefinitely.

This record has been viewed 1289 times.