Finnish resident documents history with extensive video collection in Kankaanpää

Erkki Autio, a resident of Kankaanpää, Finland, has been documenting local events for decades, including contributions to local television. His extensive collection spans hundreds of tapes, some nearly 50 years old. One of his earliest recordings captured Norwegian Crown Prince Harald’s visit to inaugurate a Finnish-Norwegian factory.

Autio’s archive contains a wealth of local history, including politics, economic life, national defense, sports, and everyday market scenes. However, many tapes are deteriorating, necessitating repairs for viewing. He has long contemplated how to preserve this valuable material securely.

The Finnish National Audiovisual Institute (KAVI), an agency under the Ministry of Education and Culture, is interested in collections like Autio’s. KAVI aims to document local television and radio programs for both cultural preservation and research purposes. Currently, the institute has access to around 15 complete local television archives and has even conducted interviews with over 30 local television representatives as part of its ongoing work.

In Salo, a local heritage association is digitally preserving material from a former local television station, with support from the city and local banks. Eeva Kujanpää, the association’s chair, notes that while most of the digitization is complete, hundreds of tapes remain.

Kankaanpää City Museum’s director Kati Vainio recognizes the risk of losing valuable local footage if not digitized promptly. The museum has recently received a collection from a local photography studio but lacks the resources and expertise to manage video materials. There may be opportunities for project-based funding should local museums deem the materials significant.

Autio has yet to finalize a solution for securing his archive, although he has shared a portion of it on social media. He estimates that digitizing the entire collection could take nearly a year and acknowledges the potential risks of sharing historical footage in the current digital landscape, stressing the need for a timely resolution.