BFI Future Plan 2012-17

The BFI consultation document New Horizons for UK Film: BFI Future Plan 2012-2017  can be accessed as a PDF here.

BFI library update May 2012

BFI National Library May 2012

In this newsletter I have good news to report on the progress of the construction of the new Library at BFI Southbank and also a reminder of our closure dates while we relocate the books and other content and prepare the new space.

On 1 April access to the BFI Library became free ahead of its move to BFI Southbank. Almost from day one, librarians reported a noticeable increase in visitors to the current Stephen Street site and they’ve received almost unanimous positive support for the move. It all augurs well for the future. Whenever possible, we have responded to your questions about the move and the changes to Library services and I hope you feel we have addressed your concerns. Mostly, we and the majority of our users are hugely excited about the new Library and the possibilities for its future development.

We have even received compliments about the hoardings we put up around the Library building site at South Bank. Designed by our own BFI Studio they tell a great story for the move which has been matched only by the efficiency and professionalism of the construction work itself. Building work started in early March and the team is currently well on track and delivering a high standard of work.

We expect everything to be completed in early May after which Library staff will be trained and familiarised with the facilities – everything from where the light switches are to operating the new state of the art scanning equipment. The books and collections will be moved from mid-May (see details below) and the new BFI Library will open to the public on 12 June with a formal launch in September. This significant refurbishment will make the Library more accessible, attract new users, and integrate its considerable resources into our public and cultural programmes. It will have a brand new Saturday service, regular longer weekday opening hours and offer increased digitisation of resources.
 

REMINDER: How to plan your requirements around the BFI Library closure and temporary restricted access to press clippings

The Library will be closed from Monday 14 May to Tuesday 12 June. We are working hard to minimise disruption to all our Library users, but unavoidably services will be temporarily shut or restricted as content is digitised and while we move our books and resources to their new home. We apologise for this inconvenience and recognise that Library users may need to access our collections for a range of research and study needs during this time. If you know you will need to use the services between Monday 14 May and Tuesday 12 June, we strongly advise you to plan ahead. If in any doubt, please discuss your requirements with the Library team.

Service alternatives
The following measures outline the options for alternative access:
1. A transitional digital-on-demand request service for articles, book chapters and press cuttings that cannot be accessed elsewhere
2. Bibliography and filmography compilation from our databases available upon request
3. There will be a five day turnaround on the above requests, in line with current enquiries policy
4. There will be limited Special Collections access during this time, please contact the department by emailing speccoll@bfi.org.uk

Changes to press cuttings access
The BFI’s extensive press cuttings collection has to date only been accessible on microfiche. The whole collection is now being digitised and will not be available to access during this process. Digitisation of the first section of cuttings (around 50,000 individual microfiche relating ‘Personalities’) began in late March with the remainder relating to film and television titles to be processed when the Stephen Street Library closes on 14 May.
When the new Library opens in June, 25% of the collection will be available digitally, with the remainder being phased in regular instalments. A core ambition of the Library’s digitisation programme is to make the entire collection available as fully searchable digitised images by September to tie in with our official launch.
Again, we recognise the foremost needs of our users to be able to access these collections during the digitisation period.

To see the press clippings, please:
1. Organise and plan ahead. Requests for cuttings need to be made in advance and please allow for a five day turnaround
2. You will be given access to the original press cuttings that are held at our Paperstore in archival conditions
3. Some of the cuttings date back to the 1930s and great care must be taken in their handling. If, for preservation purposes, they are considered too fragile then they may not be available for viewing. This will be in exceptional circumstances only.

Our librarians will be available to discuss your research needs throughout the closure period on email library@bfi.org.uk.
 

Gabriele Popp, BFI Head of Information

 

Amanda Nevill promises a ‘fresh approach to film education’

From Screen Daily  today:

BFI announces “pillars” of its Five Year Plan For Film

18 April, 2012 |

By Andreas Wiseman

Amanda Nevill today promised a “fresh approach” from the BFI in its Five Year Forward Plan For Film; government and BFI to officially respond to Chris Smith’s Film Policy Review on May 14.

BFI CEO Amanda Nevill today disclosed the “three pillars” of the BFI’s Five Year Forward Plan For Film.

Nevill said the Plan would be “broadly structured around three pillars” consisting of “a major commitment to education and a better deal for audiences across the UK; an emphasis on creating a supportive home for filmmakers across the value chain; and new initiatives to unlock our film heritage.”

Nevill told a gathering of UK industry at a Westminster Forum Projects seminar that the BFI will launch its industry consultation on the Plan on May 14th, and that the BFI and the government will officially respond to Chris Smith’s Film Policy Review on the same day.

She told the audience that the BFI will be consulting the industry on how it should spend the estimated £57m it is likely to receive from the Lottery in each of the next five years.

Nevill said the main thrust of the Five Year Forward Plan would be “bold” and that the BFI would “try things it hadn’t done before.”

“The Future Plan is going to be heavily influenced by the Film Policy Review,” said Nevill. “Our emphasis is going to be on the innovative and the entrepeneurial. It is up to us to take risks that private money can not and to grow future generations of audiences. We’ll be investing in new voices as well as established voices”.

Nevill added: “There will be a fresh approach to film education; a fresh approach to building audiences; a fresh approach within the BFI itself to bring new thinking to its creative, industrial and cultural role; and a fresh approach to how we invest in development, production and distribution. We are determined to be bold and brave and we will try things we haven’t done before.”

During the seminar, Nevill broke down the level of public money invested in film last year and estimated that the BFI would have around £57m in Lottery funding to invest in the UK industry in each of the next five years, above and beyond its government grant in aid:

“Last year close on £350m worth of public money was invested in UK film. This was made up primarily of the £200m from our highly effective tax relief, government grant in aid, Lottery money and broadcaster investment.

“Of that £350m, the money available for the BFI to invest is circa £79m. £22m is the grant in aid from government. £14m of this goes to the BFI for our directly funded activities such as the national archive. We are able to generate another £26m from that £14m.

“Then there is the approximately £57m per annum of Lottery funding. That is the estimate of what we think we’ll be able to spend over the next five years. It’s this Lottery money that we will be consulting on later this spring.

“We will also be entrepeneurial in raising money from other sources to complement our public funding. The question is how we can make the most difference with this investment,” she said.

BFI announces “pillars” of its Five Year Plan For Film | News | Screen

 

BFI acquires 20,000 COI films

From the Radio Times yesterday:

BFI acquires 20,000 films made by the Central Office of Information

Classic public information films, including those featuring Charley the Cat and Tufty the Squirrel, heading to the BFI’s archive

5:50 PM, 28 March 2012

Tom Cole

The British Film Institute’s National Archive will receive a windfall of material from the Central Office of Information (COI) when the Office is formally closed at the end of March.

20,000 different films will pass into the BFI’s hands after the closure, making the COI archive the largest single collection ever to be acquired by the Institute.

Amanda Nevill, the BFI’s Chief Executive, said: “The COI films are wonderful and important examples of British film-making. Often quirky and eccentric, these films over the last 66 years tell rich and diverse stories about British life. The fact that they were used so effectively by Government departments really demonstrates the power that film has in capturing the nation’s attention and influencing Britain and we are very proud that the BFI National Archive is the films’ new guardian.”

Among the titles making their way to the BFI are Royal Destiny (1953), a look at the Queen’s early life; Sierra Leone Greets the Queen (1962) and Britain Welcomes the Emperor and Empress of Japan (1971), which showcases the controversial state visit of Emperor Hirohito and his wife.

Films made for children, including those featuring Charley the Cat, the Green Cross Code Man and Tufty the Squirrel, will also become sole property of the BFI when the collection is absorbed into its archive.

The COI collection will be made available on multiple platforms, with a selection of the films being available to view at the BFI’s Mediatheques at QUAD Derby, Wrexham Library, Newcastle Discovery Museum, Cambridge Central Library, BFI National Library and BFI Southbank, London. Other titles can be found on the BFI’s YouTube channel.

The BFI has already issued six compilation DVDs of COI material, and a new collection called Volume Seven: The Queen on Tour will be released in time for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.

BFI acquires 20,000 films made by the Central Office of Information | Radio Times

New BFI library opening dates

The BFI has announced the opening date for the new BFI Library: 

The BFI Library is moving to a new purpose-built home in our venue at BFI Southbank as part of a major modernisation andrefurbishment programme to make it more accessible, to attract new users, and to integrate its considerable resources into our public and cultural programmes

Work on the project began in early March and is scheduled over three months. This notice is to let you know that the Library will close while we physically move its contents to the new site and we are setting up measures to provide alternative access during this period. The closure dates are Monday 14 May to Tuesday 12 June. The new Library will re-open for business on 12 June ahead of a formal launch in September 2012.

This significant investment includes increasing digitisation of Library material, free access, a brand new Saturday service and regular longer weekday opening hours.