Louisiana Digital Media Archive facts for kids
The Louisiana Digital Media Archive (LDMA) is a special online collection. It holds recordings from both the Louisiana State Archives and Louisiana Public Broadcasting (LPB). The LDMA works to save and share these important historical videos and audio files. It was the first time a state archive and a public TV station teamed up like this in the U.S. The LDMA also helps the American Archive of Public Broadcasting. It has thousands of hours of media showing over 50 years of Louisiana's past. You can see special and faraway places, and hear interviews with famous Louisianians. These include artists, civil rights leaders, military members, politicians, and writers.
How the LDMA Started
The idea for the LDMA began in 2005. LPB learned that many old recordings in Louisiana were getting damaged. A report suggested that LPB should work with other groups to save these recordings.
In 2009, LPB joined a big national project. It was called the American Archive Initiative. This project aimed to list, save, and make available public TV content across the U.S. Thanks to money from this project, LPB listed over 20,000 videotapes. They also turned more than 500 hours of video into digital files. LPB and the LDMA have since shared these digital recordings with the American Archive of Public Broadcasting. This is a joint project by the Library of Congress and WGBH.
In 2010, LPB and the State Archives got a grant for $96,600. This money came from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). They used it to plan how the LDMA would work. With this grant, they created the best ways to get, save, organize, and share their old recordings. Their methods became a top example for others across the country. For example, the LDMA makes two digital copies of each video. One is super clear for TV, and one is smaller for the internet. They also use special rules called PBCore for videos and audio.
After five years of planning, the LDMA officially launched on January 20, 2015. At the start, it had over 1,500 digital videos. They planned to add thousands more. LPB and the State Archives had about 40,000 old videos in total. The collection is always growing.
A main goal of the LDMA is to protect its old recordings. This includes saving them from natural decay. They also protect them from Louisiana's hot, wet weather. This is especially important because of the humidity and big hurricanes from the Gulf.
At the launch, Secretary of State Tom Schedler said the LDMA is a place to "watch history unfold from the past." LPB president and CEO Beth Courtney noted how useful these collections could be for learning. By February 2015, nearly 40,000 teachers signed up to use the learning materials from LPB. According to LPB archivist Leslie Bourgeois, the two main groups using the LDMA are K–12 students and the general public. People can look through the videos by TV show or by subject. Users can watch videos online on the LDMA's website. While they couldn't download them at first, some videos might be available to download later.
Future goals for the LDMA include making sure the project can keep going. They also want to get more grants and donations. They hope to find new partners like historical societies.
What's in the Collections
The LDMA holds both the Louisiana State Archives Multimedia Collection and the LPB Digital Collection. It works to save and share both of these. It has thousands of hours of media showing over 50 years of Louisiana's past. This includes special and faraway places. It also has interviews with many famous Louisianians. These include artists, civil rights leaders, military members, politicians, and writers.
Some of the people you can find in the collections are Stephen E. Ambrose and Ruby Bridges. You can also find Jim Garrison and Archbishop Philip Hannan. Other famous names include Pete Maravich and Governor John McKeithen. There are also videos of Lee Harvey Oswald and Mayor Victor H. Schiro. Many state governors are well-represented, from Earl Long to Bobby Jindal. Mayors of New Orleans are also featured, from Chep Morrison to Mitch Landrieu. Schedler said the LDMA covers politics all the way back to Huey Long. Several hurricanes that hit Louisiana are also featured. These include Audrey, Betsy, and Camille.
LPB gave over forty years of TV programs to the LDMA. This includes cooking shows, documentaries, and community discussions. It also has news content. One show is "Louisiana: The State We're In," which is the longest-running statewide news magazine in the country. Other LPB shows in the LDMA include "Louisiana Public Square" and the six-part series "Louisiana: A History."
The State Archives added media from many other Louisiana TV stations. These include old stations like KLFY-TV in Lafayette, WBRZ-TV in Baton Rouge, and WWL-TV in New Orleans. The WWL collection in the LDMA has many clips from when it started in 1957. It goes up to when it switched to videotapes in 1978. Other materials from the State Archives include election ads, newsreels, and oral history interviews. The oral history collection includes interviews with civil rights leaders. These are Avery Alexander, Revius Ortique, Jr., John Minor Wisdom, and J. Skelly Wright.
