"Documentary Images Illuminate the Future"—— China Memory Project Center and Guangzhou Library

From January 16 to 17, 2022, the oral documentary seminar on "The Past of Home and Country in Individual Memory" jointly sponsored by the China Memory Project Center of the National Library of China and the Guangzhou Library, as well as the Seminar on the Public Welfare Copyright System of Public Library Documentaries, were successfully held in Guangzhou Library.

On January 16th, the oral documentary seminar and sharing meeting of "The Past of Home and Country in Individual Memory" was broadcast live simultaneously through Guotu Weibo, Guangtu Official Platform, Guangming Network, Guangming Daily client and Huya Cultural Platform. Documentary filmmaker Zhang Tongdao, director of the Documentary Center of Beijing Normal University, Tian Miao, deputy director of the China Memory Project Center of the National Library of China, Xu Bei, director of the documentary "Post-90s", and Song Kunru, director of "1950 They Are Young", attended the seminar.

At the meeting, the guests expressed their wonderful views on the combination of oral history and documentary. Professor Zhang Tongdao believes that imaging is a kind of holographic transmission. When the image is combined with the oral narrative, the grand history is transformed into a personal history, and it is a concrete person who recalls life, reflects the times, and has unlimited possibilities. Director Xu Bei shared the creative process and behind-the-scenes story of "Post-90s". She emphasized that the sincerity and empathy of interviewers are more important than any interview technique, and shared how to shape the character and present the relationships in the oral history interview. Director Song Kunru reviewed his mental journey of creating "1950 They Are Young", and how to present it was a difficult problem in the face of a large number of oral history interview materials. In the end, he aimed to show the emotions of veterans, and tried to bring the audience emotional touch and resonance, and give history a temperature and attitude. Director Tian Miao said from the origin of human oral tradition, and the history of human beings transmitting information and imparting knowledge through oral tradition is much earlier than words. Modern oral history focuses on those who witness major historical events and most who do not lose their voices in the traditional historical narrative system. Oral history documentaries show the memories of individuals in their homeland, and he looks forward to the emergence of more excellent works.

On January 17, experts and scholars from the library science, industry, documentary and legal circles gathered to discuss the public library documentary public welfare copyright system. Professor Cheng Huanwen of the School of Information Management of Sun Yat-sen University, Professor Chen Chuanfu of the School of Information Management of Wuhan University, Professor Zhang Jiuzhen of the Department of Information Management of Peking University, Fang Jiazhong, Director of guangzhou Library, Tian Miao, Deputy Director of the China Memory Project Center of the National Library of China, Jia Yi, Consultant of guangzhou Documentary Research and Exhibition Center of Guangzhou Library, Chen Dali, President of the Capital Documentary Development Association and Deputy Director of the Documentary Academic Committee of the China Television Artists Association, chen Lingzhen, co-founder and CEO of Zhongna Huaren CNEX, Liu Yang, senior producer of Youku Documentary Center, and Chen Zhen, legal counsel of Guangzhou Library, attended the seminar to provide suggestions for how the library can connect with the documentary industry.

Director Fang Jiazhong said that copyright is a very important part of the documentary collection system, and it also determines whether the documentary collection resources can serve the public well. The establishment of a public welfare copyright system for documentaries will help libraries and other public welfare service institutions to carry out documentary collections and public service work for sustainable development. Professor Cheng Huanwen pointed out that the collection of documentaries by public libraries is for public welfare screening, and the copyright of documentaries reflects the respect for the labor and rights protection of documentary creators, and there is a balance of interests between the two, which requires the joint efforts of the documentary industry, the library industry and the legal profession. Professor Chen Chuanfu believes that documentary copyright should serve the development of libraries, and cannot be a reason to restrict library services. He suggested that the library collection of documentaries be included in the national public cultural service system, the establishment of a documentary deposit system, give play to the role of libraries in the public preservation of documentaries, make full use of library copyright privileges and preferential policies, establish a collective management institution for documentary copyright, and promote the efficiency and fairness of documentary collection. Professor Zhang Jiuzhen pointed out that the library still has a lot of room for development in the collection of audio-visual literature. The library has a place and platform, a management team and a reader group, which can play a positive role in the dissemination of documentaries and enrich the social education function of the library. Deputy Director Tian Miao said that the library's collection of documentaries should achieve two purposes, one is to stand in the perspective of national document security, to ensure that all documents, including documentaries, have a safe and permanent preservation version, and the other is to play the functions of library culture dissemination and social education through the collection and service of documentaries. Therefore, it is crucial to establish a public interest copyright system for documentaries.

President Chen Dali believes that the Documentary Industry Association has the mission and responsibility to promote the collection of documentaries by libraries, promote the re-dissemination of documentaries, and play a role as a link and bridge. He called on the three institutions of the China Television Association, the China Broadcasting Federation and the First Discipline Inspection Association to establish a cooperative body in the documentary industry and jointly promote the collection of documentaries in the library. CEO Chen Lingzhen pointed out that first of all, it is necessary to establish an incentive and reward mechanism for documentary creators; secondly, when establishing documentary collections, each library should have a division of labor and expertise, maximize the shareable part as much as possible, promote the formation and dissemination of academic views, and promote the sustainable development of library scholarship and practice; and finally, in the face of readers, we must improve the friendliness and accessibility of services and promote the improvement of national quality.

In 2012, the National Library of China launched the China Memory Project to collect, collect and serve new types of documents such as oral literature and video literature. And with the Chinese memory project as the starting point, he actively participated in the collection, exchange and dissemination of documentaries. In cooperation with social institutions, it has co-sponsored a number of documentary festivals, including the documentary unit of the Beijing International Film Festival, the Cultural and Natural Heritage Japanese Intangible Cultural Heritage Film Exhibition, and the Chinese Ethnographic Documentary Academic Exhibition. In 2019, on the occasion of the 110th anniversary of the establishment of the National Map, the oral history documentary "Oral National Map" was launched, which premiered at the 17th China (Guangzhou) International Documentary Festival and won the first "International Oral History Association Media Award" in 2021. This is the first oral history documentary in China to record and show the development of the mainland library industry, and it is also an active exploration of oral history documentaries in the library industry.

This series of seminars on "Documentary Images Illuminate the Future" is another cooperation between the China Memory Project Center of the National Library of China and the Guangzhou Library after the premiere of the documentary "Oral National Map" in 2019 and the "Seminar on the Construction of the Documentary Collection System in Public Libraries" in 2020, aiming to discuss the documentary value, historical value and artistic value of oral history documentaries, disseminate oral history culture to the public, discuss the public value and market value of documentaries, and promote the inclusion of excellent documentaries in Tibetan libraries To realize the re-dissemination of documentaries and give play to the social education function of libraries. (Gong Zimo)

Editor: Wu Jinyang