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The Digital Repatriation Audio of the Radio Haiti Archive

Title (author1): 
Mr
First names (author1): 
Craig
Surname (author 1): 
Breaden
Institution: 
Rubenstein Library, Duke University
Country: 
UNITED STATES
Other authors: 
Dr Laura Wagner
Presentation type: 
spoken paper
Date: 
28 Sept Wednesday
Start time: 
1100
Venue: 
LoC Madison Building: Mumford Rm.
Abstract: 

The Radio Haiti Archive at Duke University houses over 3,500 recordings documenting the on-air life of Haiti’s voice of democracy. Under the leadership of Jean Dominique and Michèle Montas, from the early 1970s until 2003 Radio Haiti not only reported the news and advocated for the rights of all Haitians, it also celebrated Haiti’s culture and history, and by broadcasting in Creole as well as French, acknowledged and elevated the language common to all Haitians. Radio was a medium of unparalleled influence in twentieth-century Haiti: it enabled people to participate in public discourse, as both listeners and speakers, whether or not they could read and write. Because of its concern for the spoken language and culture of all Haitians, by the time of Jean Dominique’s assassination in April 2000, Radio Haiti had become both a broadcaster and a keeper of the nation’s memories.
 
In 2015 Duke’s Rubenstein Library received a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to digitize the station’s recordings and make them publicly available. In keeping with its commitment to donor Michèle Montas and the spirit of Radio Haiti itself, the Rubenstein Library is deeply engaged in digitally “repatriating” the recordings, which represent a significant piece of audio history in a culture steeped in oral tradition, to Haiti in a manner accessible to Haitian people. To do this, the Radio Haiti project team must answer specific questions in specific ways:
 
How can the Radio Haiti audio be packaged so it is accessible to Haitians who vary widely in terms of literacy, familiarity with technology, and digital infrastructure.
How can the Radio Haiti project be effectively promoted, so that Haitians know about it in the first place?
How can the Radio Haiti recordings be presented in a way that fits within evolving Haitian digital culture and infrastructure?
What methodologies will our processing and digital projects teams need to employ to support bringing Radio Haiti back to Haiti?
 
While the story of the Radio Haiti Archive is in part about processing and digitally preserving a large audio collection to archival standards, this presentation will focus on access and the continuing role that Radio Haiti has to play in Haitian life. Project archivist and Haiti scholar Laura Wagner will present research done in summer 2016 to address the questions posed above, while project manager and audiovisual archivist Craig Breaden will discuss the technical challenges and proposed solutions for taking the recordings back to Haiti.