Data and Media Resources Online

This page provides guidance on identifying, accessing and using digital data and media (non-text material) services and collections for use in learning, teaching and research.

Primo

Primo is a new online tool which will allow you to browse and search relevant subject resources. Resources accessible through Primo include resources subscribed to by Aberystwyth University, as well as a selection of important resources that are freely available.

 

Multimedia resources: Film, Video, TV and Audio

Identifying material – online indexes and catalogues to TV programming

The first step in accessing programming is to accurately identify which materials are relevant for research, teaching or study. The University subscribes and has access to a number of resources and services which provide access to archives of television and radio programming and other digital media sources. Primo includes HERMES and TRILT which are useful starting points; however the following three resources (not in Primo) could also be useful:

  • BUND (British Universities Newsreel Database). Records of British cinema newsreel production and digitised documents. Freely available to HEIs. Contains 160,000 records for 1910-1983. Now linked to Pathe newsreels.
  • Researcher's Guide Online (RGO). Database of film, television, radio and related documentation collections. Freely available to HEIs. Details almost 550 collections in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It features national and regional archives as well stockshot libraries and collections held by local authorities, museums, institutions of further and higher education, industrial companies and private individuals.
  • TVTiP: TVTimes Project 1955-1985. Online archive of TV Times schedule index from September 1955 – March 1985.

Off-air recording

AU holds an ERA licence for off-air recordings which allows AU staff to record certain television and radio programmes for use in teaching (subject to conditions). Information Services also provides a central off-air recording service and can provide recordings on videotape or DVD. Please see the Media Services webpages for further information (there is also a licence for Open University off-air recording). If a recording is missed, AU's membership of BUFVC allows staff to obtain the missed recording from the BUFVC's Off-Air Recording Back-Up Service. This service covers programming from terrestrial television since 1st June 1998. Please note that there is a limit to the number of programmes that can be requested each year under AU membership. 

National Screen & Sound Archive of Wales

The Screen & Sound Archive of Wales is located at the National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth. The collection comprises radio and television broadcasts, sound recordings and amateur films, cassettes and CDs, commercial films and videos in a wide variety of subjects with a focus on the culture and life of Wales and the Welsh. The online film catalogue is available here. There are viewing and listening facilities on site.

Copyright and usage restrictions

Use of digital media is governed by copyright law. Always ensure that such materials used in teaching, learning and and research are copyright cleared for educational and research use. See also AU's Information Policy on Copyright: scanning, the internet and electronic storage, the Educational Recording Agency (ERA) Licensing Scheme, and the British Universities Film & Video Council.

Help from external bodies

  • JISC Digital Media exists to help the UK’s FE and HE communities embrace and maximise the use of digital media. As well as information on their website, they run courses on subjects as diverse as digitising analogue video recordings; image metadata; digital photography; audio production; recording lectures, seminars, interviews and podcasts; using digital media in VLEs; copyright and digital images; and building departmental image collections.
  • The British Universities Film & Video Council (BUFVC) also run courses on subjects such as encoding digital video for streaming and network delivery; shooting with high definition video; and copyright clearance for print, broadcast and multimedia production.
  • This wiki page (by RSC West Midlands) covers: streaming video (definitions and options), pre (storyboarding) and post production (shooting & editing software), tutorials, applications of video for learning, CODECs, copyright, and resources. It has lots of useful tips and links.
  • See also: Internet for Video and Moving Image Resources and Internet Audio Resources

Images

Advice on using digital images:

Copyright and usage restrictions

  • Most images available via the internet are subject to some usage restrictions and/or require some form of acknowledgement. Any re-use or re-publication of the image (including the Web, Intranet or Virtual Learning Environment) will usually require permission from its owner. Always check the copyright associated with an internet image.
  • Digital image collections: downloading of images from an image database or online collection is subject to copyright law and to the terms and conditions of that service. Please refer to the Terms and Conditions or Copyright statement for each collection.
  • See also AU's Information Policy on Copyright: scanning, the internet and electronic storage and the JISC Digital Media Frequently Asked Questions about Copyright.

Finding digital images

As well as those below, see the JISC Digital Media Review of Image Search Engines, and Intute's Internet for Image Searching tutorial.

There are many sources of copyright-free images, such as:

  • Flickr Creative Commons Search - Find images from Flickr that have Creative Commons licences. Click on the 'Flickr' tab to search for Creative Commons images.
  • morgueFile - Public image archive.
  • stock.xchng - Stock images - over 350,000. Free, but you need to create an account. You can use the images on websites, multimedia presentations, broadcast film and video, in printed promotional materials, on business cards, letterheads, decoration etc.
  • Copyright Free Photos.com - photos of a range of subjects. The copyright (royalty) free photos available on this site have been made available, free of charge, for any application - web design, graphics, backgrounds, printed images, desktop wallpaper.
  • Open Clip Art Library - Clip art. The Open Clip Art library has a database of images that are free to use and encourages contribution.
  • openphoto - A bank of free stock images.

There are also many specialised sources of images:

  • For those interested in fine art, many galleries exhibit some of their works online. For example, The National Gallery has over 2,000 paintings on thier site. There are also sites such as Axis, which has digitised images from contemporary British artists; and the Visual Arts Data Service (VADS) which has many collections.
  • Those interested in Wales will want to make use of Gathering the Jewels - over 30,000 digitised images of collections from libraries, archives and museums throughout Wales. There is also the National Library of Wales Digital Mirror - digitised images and photos of Welsh interest.
  • There are also many sites with images on a single topic. For example Freeze Frame has more than 20,000 historic polar images from 150 years of polar expeditions.