Screen Australia launches Where to Watch feature on the Screen Australia website.

The Screen Australia website is home to a wealth of information and data including The Screen Guide where users can search for Australian film, television, VOD titles and games. To further support Australian audiences to discover Australian titles, Screen Australia has implemented a content discovery function – Where to Watch – that will allow users to find Australian content anywhere in the world. The widget will help users to find local and international cinema session times and streaming opportunities for over 2500 Australian titles.

COO Screen Australia Grainne Brunsdon said, "We are committed to ensuring that our bold and distinctive Australian screen stories are celebrated at home and also discoverable on a global stage. Our new 'Where to Watch' feature is designed to bridge the gap between audiences and Australian content, making it easier than ever to find and enjoy our stories no matter where you are in the world. We invite you to explore this exciting new tool and share your feedback as we work to support and elevate Australian screen content globally."

Discover live cinema listings where you can book tickets for the newest Australian films in your local area - or watch old favourites at home with available streaming and on demand platforms in your country.

The program is in a trial phase for the next 12 months as we test its functionality. The database of film and television on the platform is constantly being updated and Screen Australia invites you to provide feedback via communications@screenaustralia.gov.au.  

For more information on the Where to Watch program, see the full story by Screen Australia at: https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/sa/screen-news/2024/08-22-where-to-watch.

As an archivist, Emma Prince often finds herself in dusty museum storage rooms and sometimes-moldy home attics.

She and her nearly all-women team of genealogists and historians build archives for museums, schools and other organizations through her St. Louis-based company, Backlog.

In her work organizing catalogs and tracking down lost ancestors, Prince also challenges popular notions about who does this kind of research.

“I think that people imagine old men in tweed jackets [as archivists],” Prince said. “That's definitely not our staff. [It’s] kind of fun to show up to meetings and be a little bit more modern and kind of move the profession forward.”

Since founding Backlog in 2021, Prince’s clients have included the City Museum, Walt Disney Hometown Museum and St. Louis University High. Backlog’s historians also connect with people virtually by hosting webinars about archiving digital work, or decoding old documents. Prince said the company’s specialized services often come into play when individuals get stuck.

“We do a lot of ‘brick wall’ research, like, ‘Hi, my family’s from St. Louis [and] we can't connect to this different generation. Can you help us?’ So archives [work] is more the organization of stuff, and the genealogy [work] is doing research sometimes with that stuff.”

The Guinness Archive has preserved records and artifacts, dating from 1759, including photos, and 20,000 individual personnel records of past employees giving a glimpse into the history of St. James's Gate and Guinness staff.

The Guinness Archive, housed by the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin, collects, preserves, and makes accessible records and artifacts from the formation of the company in 1759 to the present day, including 20,000 individual personnel records of past employees.

The foundation document of the Guinness Archive is the 99,000-year lease signed by Arthur Guinness on the St. James’s Gate Brewery in 1759.

The Archive, a treasure chest of Guinness history, is the source of information on all aspects of the history of Guinness, focusing especially on the work and life of the St. James’s Gate Brewery in Dublin. Secure conditions and correct environmental controls ensure the continued preservation of a range of materials, including the advertising, brewing, engineering, social, and personnel records of the company.

Part of the Guinness Archive collection includes over 20,000 individual personnel records of past employees who worked at the Brewery from c. 1880s – early 2000s. Guinness first introduced pensions to all employees in the 1880s and as a result of this initiative, the company began maintaining detailed records on employees which now make up an amazing genealogy resource, unique to corporate archives.

The archive is the direct point of contact for all historical inquiries on the history of Guinness and the archive answers in excess of 5,000 inquiries from all around the world, most notably from consumers in the United States. By far the most requested topic relates to genealogy and such was the demand for genealogy inquiries that a few years ago the archives team undertook an exciting project to digitize a summary of each employee's work record on the line. This was an exciting innovation and as a result, of this project family, historians can now search the records of their loved ones and ancestors in the genealogy section of www.Guinness-Storehouse.com.

Researchers from all over the world simply type in the name of their relative and can instantly retrieve information such as the employee’s date of birth, date of death, the age at which they joined the brewery, and their occupation. The records also provide information on each department within St. James’s Gate, offering a behind-the-scenes look at what it was like to work in the brewery whether in the brewhouse as an engineer or in the catering department.

For those interested in delving further into their family history, the Guinness Archive is also open by appointment to those who wish to view the original records of their direct relatives. Researchers come from all over the world to trace their ancestors and it is advised that an appointment is made in advance of a visit to the Guinness Archive. Genealogy researchers are accommodated on specific days and times in the Guinness Archive in the Guinness Storehouse.

You can read more in an article by Deirdre McParland published in the IrishCentral web site at: https://bit.ly/4dTuxbY.

A university is set to preserve digitally more than 20,000 pictures, prints and documents from the post-partition period in India. Led by Coventry University, two decades of India's history, from 1947, will be digitised from a collection housed at Hamilton Studios in Mumbai.

The collection contains more than 600,000 objects from nearly a 100 years of Indian heritage - including partition, which ended two centuries of British colonial rule and divided the subcontinent into two separate nations: India and Pakistan.The project will specifically preserve items - including passport photographs and invoices - for the period up to 1967.

The collection also includes film negatives, test prints, and legal documents.

The project was inspired by Coventry Digital - an online archive of the city containing more than 70,000 local images, videos and documents.

Ben Kyneswood, professor at Coventry University’s Research Centre for Creative Economies, will collaborate with Hamilton Studios to digitise the images. He said: "The success of Coventry Digital has demonstrated the power of digital technology in preserving and sharing cultural narratives. I am eager to extend this legacy to the preservation of India's cultural heritage, ensuring that future generations have access to these invaluable historical records."

A university spokesperson said the archive will aim to capture migration stories to "bridge historical divides, foster cultural preservation and illuminate how the partition continues to shape the stories of India and its people."

Digital methods for records keeping and document management have dominated debates at the 59th International Council on Archives’ Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Branch (ESARBICA) meeting in Arusha where board members from 14 countries have gathered for a two-day conference.

The meeting underscored a pivotal shift from traditional paper-based systems to advanced digital solutions aimed at improving efficiency and accessibility in government records keeping.

Announced yesterday by Xavier Daudi, Permanent Secretary in the President’s Office (Public Service Management and Good Governance) the conference highlights Tanzania’s strides in digital technology adoption.

Daudi noted that public institutions have achieved a 50 percent adoption rate of digital methods, a significant leap from the reliance on paper-based systems of the past.

"Historically, document management relied heavily on paper-based systems," Daudi remarked. "However, technological advancements now emphasize the transition to digital methods which are more efficient."

The focus of the conference reflects a broader trend toward digital transformation, emphasising the crucial role of accurate digital records in enhancing government efficiency and overcoming existing challenges such as the need for skilled personnel.

"Despite some challenges, including the need for skilled personnel, we are committed to leveraging technology to achieve our goals," Daudi added. "We encourage member institutions to adopt modern systems to facilitate quicker improvements." 

You can read more in an article in the ippmedia.com web site at: https://bit.ly/3YUGFp3.

Event Details

Sat, Sep 21, 2024 at 11:00 AM - 1:00 pm EST 

Pinellas Genealogy Society at the Largo Public Library, 120 Central Park Drive, Meeting Room/Jenkins B, Largo, FL 33771

Genealogy is the same the world around, yet there are some unique challenges when researching African American family history. For example, specific strategies are required to identify and work with records before 1860 and locating identifiable names among government records can raise the difficulty level. Even though it can be challenging, it can also be rewarding. Especially if you plan to volunteer for community projects like our Clearwater Colored Cemeteries program. We’ll provide research strategies to take you around the obstacles to help you find the records you seek. Presented by Taneya Koonce.

Taneya Koonce works extensively in the genealogy community with leadership roles in the USGenWeb Project and the Afro-American Historical & Genealogical Society (as National Treasurer and Nashville Chapter President). Through her Academy of Legacy Leaders Facebook community, Taneya facilitates education and inspiration for 2,500 family history enthusiasts. She is an active genealogy & family history blogger and author. Genealogy has been her passion since 2005 especially in technology, historical newspaper research, digital photo & file organization, and genetic genealogy all while keeping family history fun!

Note: FREE and open to the public. This is the monthly general membership meeting with educational program. The first 15 minutes of this program will include the Society meeting. This hybrid meeting will be held in-person at the Largo Public Library, 120 Central Park Drive, Meeting Room/Jenkins B, Largo, FL 33771 AND online via Zoom. Registration is only required for Zoom attendees.

New and Updated

• NEW Florida, U.S., State Prison Register, 1875-1959 08/19/2024
  
• NEW Savannah, Georgia, U.S., Savannah Morning News Obituary Index, 1916-1996, 2011 08/19/2024
• UPDATED Baltimore, Maryland, U.S., Tax Records Index, 1798-1808 08/19/2024
• NEW Idaho, U.S., Voter Registration Records, 1916-2020 08/14/2024
• UPDATED Nebraska, U.S., Federal Naturalization Records, 1835-1987 08/08/2024
• UPDATED Tennessee, U.S., Naturalization Records, 1888-1992 08/08/2024
• UPDATED San Francisco, California, U.S., Registers of Chinese Laborers Returning to the U.S., 1882-1912 08/08/2024
• UPDATED Ohio, Roster of Soldiers, Sailors, and Marines in World War I, 1917-191808/ 07/2024
• UPDATED Floyd County, Virginia, U.S., Births, 1873-1879 08/07/2024
• UPDATED Rockingham County, Virginia, U.S., Births, 1888-1890 08/07/2024
• UPDATED Amelia County, Virginia Births, 1853-1896 08/07/2024
• UPDATED Arkansas, U.S., Divorces, 1923-1973 08/05/2024
• UPDATED Arkansas, Marriage Certificates, 1917-1972 08/05/2024
• UPDATED Arkansas, Death Certificates, 1914-1969 08/05/2024
• UPDATED Alabama, U.S., Naturalization Records, 1888-1991 08/05/2024
• UPDATED California, U.S., Federal Naturalization Records, 1888-1991 08/05/2024
• UPDATED Illinois, U.S., Federal Naturalization Records, 1856-1991 08/05/2024
• UPDATED New Jersey, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1739-1991 08/01/2024
• UPDATED Washington, U.S., Naturalizations, 1853-1980 08/01/2024
• UPDATED Wisconsin, U.S., Federal Naturalization Records, 1848-1992 08/01/2024
• UPDATED Iowa, U.S., Marriage Records, 1880-1948 07/29/2024
• NEW Web: Charleston County, South Carolina, U.S., Voter Registration Roll, 1868 07/29/2024
• NEW Web: United States, Dead Fred Genealogical Photo Archive Index, 1816-2001 07/29/2024
• UPDATED U.S., Find a Grave® Index, 1600s-Current 07/25/2024
• UPDATED North Carolina, U.S., Birth Indexes, 1800-2000 07/22/2024
• NEW Rhode Island, USA, World War I Portraits, 1914-1918 07/17/2024
• NEW New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S., Historical Notaries' Indexes, 1770-1966 07/11/2024
• UPDATED Illinois, U.S., Catholic Diocese of Joliet, Sacramental Records, 1800-1976 07/11/2024
• UPDATED Yarmouth, Massachusetts, U.S., Directory 1895 07/11/2024
• UPDATED Newton, Massachusetts, U.S., Directory 1929 07/11/2024
• NEW Rutherford County, Tennessee, U.S., Marriages, 1889-1940 07/10/2024
• UPDATED Wisconsin, U.S., Divorce Records, 1907-2015 07/10/2024
• UPDATED Wisconsin, U.S., Death Records, 1872-2004 07/10/2024
• UPDATED Wisconsin, U.S., Birth Records, 1812-1921 07/10/2024
• NEW California, U.S., Registrations of Motor Vehicles, 1905-1922 07/10/2024
• NEW Rhode Island, U.S., Birth Registrations 1846-1921 07/09/2024
• NEW Arlington, Virginia, U.S., Arlington National Cemetery, 1861-2024 07/08/2024

Apple Podcasts got the full Apple Music treatment with its own web app today. The UI is essentially the same as Apple’s native app but with the added flexibility of working on non-Apple devices. Apple says Podcasts works on all major browsers, including Safari, Chrome, Edge, and Firefox, and can be accessed in more than 170 countries and regions in their local language. If you’re an Apple Podcasts user, your progress will be synced from the web to your Apple devices, too.

Apple Podcasts' web app is nearly identical to the native version.

The web app strikes me as a win for both listeners and podcasters. Podcast fans now have more ways to enjoy their favorite shows, discover new ones, and share episodes with others. Suddenly, Apple Podcasts is cross-platform, which is still relatively rare among the most popular podcast apps, except for Pocket Casts.

Links opened on Apple devices will open in the native Podcasts app and in the browser on other devices, although on the Mac, it is possible to play episodes in a browser if you prefer. Here’s Comfort Zone playing on everyone’s current obsession, the Boox Palma:

You can read more in an article by John Voorhees published in the MacStories.net web site at: https://www.macstories.net/news/apple-podcasts-is-now-available-as-a-web-app/.

A good private video editor is hard to find—especially when you want it to work across all of your devices. Yes, there are lots of decent video editors, including Microsoft’s Clipchamp tool and Apple’s iMovie app. But Clipchamp is one of many modern video-editing tools that requires you to sign in with an account and upload your videos to a company’s servers. And iMovie, of course, is limited to working only on Apple’s own products.

I’ve been looking for a free web-based video editor that is completely private, compatible everywhere, and available to use without any sign-in or account-creating requirement. Now, I’ve found one that fits the bill.

It’s named Wide.video, and it runs in your web browser, which means it works on whatever computer you happen to be using: Windows PC, Chromebook, Mac, Linux, or whatever else you might prefer.

But, while it runs in your web browser and is technically a web app, it does all the work on your computer. You don’t have to sign up for an account, you don’t have to install anything, and you don’t have to upload your private videos to any company’s servers. And while it’s free, it doesn’t even have ads.

You can read more in an article by Chris Hoffman published in the FastCompany web site at: https://bit.ly/4dyecd2.

A stylized logo for “The Famous Computer Cafe.” The logo resembles a vintage neon sign, featuring a tall, vertical structure with multiple components. The topmost part of the sign has a depiction of a small satellite or atomic model, labeled with “The Famous.” Below this, in bold block letters, reads “COMPUTER”. Extending downwards, the word “CAFE” appears vertically in a similar bold style. Both “COMPUTER” and “CAFE” have an arrow motif, with the word “CAFE” positioned inside a large downward-pointing arrow, which is embellished with numerous small lights around its perimeter. The entire logo is rendered in a palette of dark blue and yellow, giving it a striking, retro look indicative of classic neon signs.

A previously lost cache of celebrity and historical interviews from a long-dormant radio show have been discovered, digitized, and made available for all.

The Internet Archive is now home to 53 episodes of The Famous Computer Cafe, a 1980s radio show about the new world of home computers. The program included computer industry news, product reviews, and interviews, and aired from 1983 through 1986 on radio stations in southern and central California.

The creators of The Famous Computer Cafe saved every episode on reel-to-reel tapes, but over the years the tapes were forgotten, and, ultimately, lost. Earlier this year archivist Kay Savetz recovered several of the tapes in a property sale, and recognizing their value and worthiness of professional transfer, launched a GoFundMe to have them digitized, and made them available at Internet Archive with the permission of the show’s creators.

While full of time-capsule descriptions of 1980s technology news, the most exciting aspect of the show has been the variety and uniqueness of the interviews. The list of people that the show interviewed is a who’s-who of tech luminaries of the 1980s: computer people, musicians, publishers, philosophers, journalists. Interviews in the recovered recordings include Timothy Leary, Douglas Adams, Bill Gates, Atari’s Jack Tramiel, Apple’s Bill Atkinson, and dozens of others. The recovered shows span November 17 1984 through July 12, 1985.

Many more of the original reel-to-reel tapes — including shows with interviews with Ray Bradbury, Robert Moog, Donny Osmond, and Gene Roddenberry — are still lost, and perhaps are still waiting to be found in the Los Angeles area.

The stories of how The Famous Computer Cafe was created — and saved, 40 years later — is explored in an episode of the Radio Survivor podcast. The podcast interviewed show co-creator Ellen Fields and archivist Kay Savetz, providing a dual perspective of how the show was created and how it was recovered.

The recovery of these interviews, 40 years after their original airing, holds out hope that many more relics and treasures still await discovery.