ABERYSTWYTH is set to become the home of the nation’s broadcast archives – the first of its kind in the UK.

Around half a million clips from the history of Welsh television and radio are to be made available to the public when the Wales Broadcast Archive Centre opens its doors in the National Library of Wales later this month.

Housed in an interactive exhibition - with 13 ‘Clip Corners’ opening across Wales- this £9 million project will be the first national broadcast archive in the United Kingdom, and one of the most usable broadcast archives in Europe, transforming public access to a century of Welsh broadcast history with film, video and audio in both Welsh and English digitised for discovery.

The Wales Broadcast Archive Centre offers digital access to material that has been preserved in various formats throughout the decades.

Visitors can search sound recordings of BBC radio in Wales from the 1930s onwards, television broadcasts by the BBC and commercial broadcasters in Wales including HTV Wales and ITV Cymru Wales from the 1950s onwards and from 1982 – all the programmes of S4C, the first Welsh language TV channel.

Hugely significant moments in Welsh history have been recorded for future generations through general news and documentary items covering events such as the drowning of Tryweryn, the Aberfan disaster, the Miners’ strikes and the opening of the Senedd.

Also included are clips that cover all aspects of Welsh life, from extensive coverage of Welsh sport since the 1940s to entertainment and drama including the BBC’s longest running soap opera – Pobol y Cwm - which first aired in 1974 .

The permanent exhibition uses cutting edge interactive technology to showcase the archive’s highlights along with an adaptable exhibition that will change regularly . This includes an audio and video lounge that function as audiovisual bookshelves for casual browsing.

The key service will be delivered through terminals which will enable unprecedented access for the public and academics to research a vast collection of digitised material from Wales’ audiovisual heritage. Bespoke activities for schools and groups are available at the National Library’s Wales Broadcast Archive Centre.

President of the National Library of Wales, Ashok Ahir said: ”The Wales Broadcast Archive Centre is not only a century of Welsh broadcasting history, but a century of Welsh history. And for the first time in that century, it’s available for the people of Wales to enjoy. Across our hundreds of thousands of clips donated by BBC Cymru Wales, ITV Cymru Wales and S4C, we have stories from every corner and every community in Wales. Some are stories as they were told to Wales, others are stories that have been told by Wales. People will be able to see themselves in the stories that they see and hear. We want people to come and learn, share and enjoy the history of Wales, not only in Aberystwyth, but all across Wales.”

In a first for the National Library, the public will be able to access its broadcast archive from outside its Aberystwyth base - with 13 new locations across Wales opening in 2023.

On the significance of the Wales Broadcast Archive Centre being accessible in every corner of Wales Mr Ashok said: “One of our key aims at the National Library Wales in Aberystwyth is that our amazing collections are accessible to everyone in Wales. At any of our Clip Corners across Wales people will be able to log in to the National Library, log in to the Wales Broadcast Archive and watch and listen to the history of their local community. Not only will they be learning about the stories of their community, but how those stories sit in the wider history of Wales.”

The Wales Broadcast Archive Centre is an innovative project, supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and the Welsh Government, to bring a huge collection of digitised broadcast material to the National Library of Wales, and to make it accessible to everybody in Wales.

The material is being collected at the National Library of Wales due to agreements with the Welsh Broadcasters BBC Cymru Wales, ITV Cymru Wales and S4C. In addition to receiving a large body of digital material, the Library will continue to discover and digitise more broadcast material.

The National Library Wales Broadcast Archive Centre is a free permanent exhibition and will be open to the public from the 27 March 2023.

Also, in a first for the National Library, the public will be able to access its broadcast archive from outside its Aberystwyth base - with 13 new locations across Wales opening in 2023.

• Carmarthenshire Library

• West Glamorgan Archives

• Wales Millennium Centre

• Conwy Culture Centre

• South Wales Miners’ Library

• Llanrwst Library

• Caernarfon Record Office

• Merthyr Library

• Coleg Cambria Yale, Wrexham

• North East Wales Archives, Ruthin

• Anglesey Archives

• Glamorgan Archives

• Pembrokeshire Archives