Unlocking the Archive: The Defense Department's Plan to Make Unreleased Audiovisual Records Public

摘要

Defense Media Activity (DMA) is the Department of Defense's (DoD) direct line of communication for news and information to U.S. forces worldwide. The agency informs DoD audiences, entertains DoD audience overseas, trains Public Affairs and Visual Information professionals, and manages the DoD's visual information. The central audiovisual archive of the Department of Defense (DoD) holds millions of images ranging from World War I to current operations in the Middle East. The Defense Imagery Management Operations Center (DIMOC) of the Defense Media Activity centrally collects, processes, disseminates and archives audiovisual records documenting the many activities of the Defense of Department (DoD) around the globe. In an effort to make the entire DoD collection publically available online, the DIMOC has developed and implemented an innovative process to address a large portion of the collection that has not been cleared for public release. This paper explores the historical context for the mixed DoD collection and the innovative solutions implemented by DIMOC to overcome barriers to clearing this content for public access.