BISA Sound Archives Conference: 14-15 May M Shed Bristol
The full programme is out for next month’s British and Irish Sound Archives conference at the M Shed in Bristol! It is two packed days of sound archive goodness, and believe it or not it’s the twentieth anniversary edition.
A lot has changed in 20 years of archiving sound archives. Bookings are open now so get your ticket on Eventbrite! (2 day, 1 day and reduced rates available)
BISA 20th Anniversary Conference programme
The programme features on day one, 14 May 2026:
- Update on Sounds of the South West project – Katie Scaife and Heather Millward (Sounds of the South West Project Managers, Bristol City Council)
- Adam Tovell (British Library) on planning a sound digitisation project
- Marcus Smith (BCfm Radio) on podcasting
- John Merion Rea on his installation Atgyfodi (vb revive vb resurrect)
- Ethical approaches to field recording and archiving oral histories, Riah Naief (Listen Gallery)
- Challenges in crowdsourced sound heritage archives: perspectives of
organisers and contributors, Dr Pinar Yelmi (Lecturer in Digital and Interactive Design, University of Leeds) - Roundtable: Balancing rights and online access
- Tour of Bristol Archives
- Reflection: 20 years of BISA
- BISA Confidential (The sound archives stories that are told in the licensed premises stay in the licensed premises!)
And day two, 15 May 2026:
- Materiality and embodiment: a phenomenological reappraisal of digital
sound archiving, Zhuolin Li (School of Museum Studies, University of Leicester) - A manual for the restoration of the sound of amateur films, Jean-Baptiste Masson
- Panel discussion: AI, ethics and sustainability (Carl Davies, Senior Curator, BBC; David Govier, Sound Archivist, Manchester Central Library; Dr Hannah James Louwerse, Newcastle University Oral History Collective)
- BISA Annual General Meeting
I’m really looking forward to seeing all my sound archives buddies again. If you ever have anything to do with sound archives then it really is worth getting a ticket even just for the networking. Hope to see you there!
BISA Conference 2026
British and Irish Sound Archives (BISA) 2026: 20th Anniversary Conference
A two-day conference reflecting on changes to practice, technology, and research in sound heritage
British and Irish Sound Archives (BISA) invite those who work with, hold, or have an interest in sound collections to join us for our 20th anniversary conference on Thursday 14th and Friday 15th May.
The conference will be hosted by the Sounds of the South West project at M Shed, Bristol.
Attendees can expect:
- Presentations on recent sound heritage research and projects
- Panel discussions on providing access to sound collections and AI
- Practical workshops on digitisation and creative re-use
- BISA Annual General Meeting
We look forward to seeing you there!
Thursday, May 14 at 10:30 am to Friday, May 15 at 3 pm
Upcoming Events
Join our mailing list and be the first to find out Scottish sound news.
BISA Creative Commons Licences and Sound Collections online session.
We invite you to an online workshop on the Creative Commons (CC) licensing model, hosted by Steph Ashcroft and Alison Davidson from the British Library.
In this workshop we will look at the Creative Commons (CC) licensing model, what it covers and what it offers to the creators and users of sound recordings in archival collections.
In the 20-minute introduction we will look at the 6 main CC licences that are regularly used in heritage and research, and discuss the pros and cons of these licence types. In particular we will highlight how CC licences work with data protection legislation, and how the British Library applies CC licences to material in it’s Sound & Vision collections.
In the 30-minute discussion, you are invited to share your own experiences of working with CC licences, and to ask any questions to Steph, Alison and the group. If there are any questions or topics you would like to be covered in the introduction, please feel free to contact Steph ahead of the workshop at stephanie.ashcroft@bl.uk
Steph is the Rights Officer for the Sound & Vision department at the British Library. She develops processes and guidance for sound collections and supports S&V colleagues with copyright assessments and rights clearance activities.
Alison is the Copyright Manager at the British Library. She manages the copyright training programme for staff and advises on copyright policy and processes, such as for digitisation projects and exhibitions.
Creative Commons licences and sound collections Tickets, Thu, Jan 15, 2026 at 2:00 PM | Eventbrite
We will deliver this workshop via Teams and will send a link out to all those signed up through Eventbrite in advance of the workshop.
Research Assistant Opportunity
Small Scale Online Radio project in partnership with the University of Glasgow.
You will contribute to a project Archiving Community: Social Infrastructure and Small-Scale Online Radio working with Dr Henry Ivry and Dr Paul Rekret. The successful candidate will also be expected to contribute to the formulation and submission of research publications and research proposals as well as help manage and direct this complex and challenging project as opportunities allow. The successful candidate will also work in partnership with the National Library of Scotland in developing prototypes for archiving broadcast material.
Research Assistant · University of Glasgow
BISA 2025: Sound Heritage Research & Innovation – UPDATE
One-day tickets have now been released for the BISA conference in Manchester on 15-16 May! See the full programme and book your ticket by 30 April: https://www.bisa-web.org/bisa-2025-sound-heritage-research-innovation. With one-day tickets costing £27.50 (waged) and only £10 unwaged, this is a great opportunity to network and learn about sound archives.
Many thanks,
The BISA Committee.
BISA 2025: Sound Heritage Research & Innovation
15th and 16th May 2025, Manchester.
The British and Irish Sound Archives (BISA) invite colleagues who work with, hold or have an interest in sound collections to join us for two days of presentations, practical sessions, and discussions. This is an opportunity to meet and discuss with colleagues from across the UK and Ireland.
The conference will be hosted at Manchester Central Library.
A full programme will follow, but attendees can expect:
- Tours of the library, sound archive and North West Film Archive
- Practical sessions on how to buy and run analogue equipment (Iain Betson, AV Resilience) and data protection and oral history (Mary Stewart and Charlie Morgan, British Library)
- Delia Derbyshire Archive inspired electronic music performance, Caro C & Zolatec
- Presentations on the theme of research and innovation, including updates on current sound archive projects from across the UK
- The launch of our new Network Platform
- BISA Annual General Meeting
Tickets are now available at the link below:
BISA 2025: Sound Heritage Research & Innovation Tickets, Tue 15 Apr 2025 at 10:00 | Eventbrite