Association of Moving Image Archivists
A nonprofit professional association that advances the preservation, documentation, access, and responsible use of moving-image collections.
Last updated August 25, 2026
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Overview
The Association of Moving Image Archivists (AMIA) is a United States-based nonprofit professional association focused on the preservation and use of moving-image materials and associated sound recordings. Its work encompasses film, television, video, digital audiovisual files, and related archival documentation. The organization brings together archivists, librarians, curators, preservation specialists, filmmakers, academics, rights professionals, and others whose work involves the acquisition, description, conservation, digitization, exhibition, or interpretation of audiovisual heritage. AMIA developed from a network of professionals who had been meeting since the late 1960s to exchange practical information about film and television archives. The early group was known as the Film and Television Archives Advisory Committee, or F/TAAC. What began as a relatively small forum expanded over time to include several hundred participants connected with more than one hundred national, regional, and local institutions. The organization changed its name to the Association of Moving Image Archivists in 1990, reflecting a broader field and a more inclusive professional identity. In 1991, members voted to formalize AMIA as an individual-based membership association. Unlike an archive that owns and manages a single collection, AMIA functions as a professional network and field-building institution. It supports cooperation among people and organizations dealing with preservation, cataloguing, copyright, access, technical standards, digital workflows, collection management, and public presentation. Its membership is open to anyone interested in moving-image preservation, although many members work in public archives, commercial media companies, museums, libraries, universities, production organizations, or specialist preservation facilities. Both individual and institutional membership are available. AMIA is governed by a membership-elected Board of Directors. Directors are elected on a two-year cycle, and the board is chaired by a president. The association relies substantially on volunteer participation. Board committees manage core organizational and policy functions, while membership committees develop expertise, advocacy, education, and professional activity in specific areas such as preservation, copyright, cataloguing, and related technical subjects. The board may also establish temporary task forces for projects that do not fit within an existing committee structure. A significant governance reorganization in 2009 introduced the committee and task-force framework used by the association. The association's annual conference is a central professional activity. It provides a forum for presentations, workshops, networking, technical exchange, and discussion of the practical and ethical challenges facing audiovisual archives. Recent conferences have been held in cities including Milwaukee, Tulsa, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Portland, New Orleans, Savannah, Richmond, Seattle, and Austin. During the COVID-19 pandemic, AMIA held its 2020 conference online and also conducted both 2021 events online. AMIA's importance derives from its role in connecting otherwise diverse parts of the moving-image preservation community. Its activities help circulate knowledge about obsolete formats, digitization, metadata, rights management, access systems, storage, conservation, and the preservation of culturally significant or endangered materials. The association is internationally oriented even though its office is based in the United States, with members drawn from multiple countries and professional backgrounds.
History
The Association of Moving Image Archivists emerged from a longstanding need for professionals responsible for film and television collections to communicate regularly about preservation and access. Beginning in the late 1960s, representatives of moving-image archives met through a group known as the Film and Television Archives Advisory Committee. These meetings allowed practitioners to compare methods, discuss technical problems, and share experience concerning the care of audiovisual materials. The network gradually expanded beyond its original group of participants. It came to include several hundred archivists and professionals associated with more than one hundred national, regional, and local institutions. The broadening of the field, especially the growing importance of videotape, sound recordings, television materials, and emerging digital formats, made the original name less representative of the community it served. In 1990, the organization adopted the name Association of Moving Image Archivists. In 1991, the membership approved a more formal organizational model based on individual participation. This established AMIA as a professional association rather than simply an informal advisory network. Its membership remained open to people with an interest in moving-image preservation, including professionals from archives, libraries, museums, universities, the film and television industries, and related technical and academic fields. Institutional membership was also offered, allowing organizations to participate in the association's professional network. AMIA's principal role is field development. It does not operate as a single collecting archive; instead, it supports the people and institutions that acquire, describe, preserve, exhibit, and provide access to moving-image materials. Its areas of concern include film and videotape preservation, digital migration, metadata and cataloguing, copyright and rights management, collection stewardship, conservation, audiovisual access, and the professional ethics surrounding archival use. The association is governed by a Board of Directors elected by its membership on a two-year cycle. The president chairs the board, which oversees the association's policies and ratifies the work of its committees and task forces. AMIA depends substantially on volunteer labor. Board committees address management, elections, conference planning, and policymaking. Membership committees provide specialist expertise, education, advocacy, and professional exchange. The board can establish temporary task forces for defined projects and dissolve them when their assignments are complete. A major governance adjustment in 2009 introduced the committee and task-force structure that remains central to AMIA's operations. This arrangement allows the association to respond to changing technical and professional issues while retaining member participation. The annual conference is the most visible expression of this network. It combines presentations, workshops, discussions, and informal exchange, and has been hosted in locations across the United States. Conferences in 2020 and 2021 were conducted online in response to pandemic conditions, while later meetings returned to in-person venues. Although AMIA is based in the United States, its membership and professional relevance extend internationally. The association connects organizations with different collection types, institutional missions, and technical resources, helping preserve knowledge about audiovisual heritage that might otherwise be isolated within individual repositories. Its continuing contribution is therefore organizational and educational: it creates a shared professional forum for sustaining moving-image archives and improving public access to them.
- 2021
Online conference programming continues
[1]Both the spring and November 2021 conference events were held online.
- 2020
Annual conference moves online
[1]The annual conference was held online during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- 2009
Governance structure reorganized
[1]AMIA introduced its present framework of board committees, membership committees, and project-specific task forces.
- 1991
AMIA becomes a formal membership association
[1]Members voted to establish AMIA as an individual-based professional association serving the moving-image archival field.
- 1990
The association adopts the AMIA name
[1]The Film and Television Archives Advisory Committee changed its name to the Association of Moving Image Archivists as its membership and professional remit expanded.
- 1960
Regular archival meetings begin
[1]Representatives from moving-image archives began meeting regularly in the late 1960s to exchange practical knowledge about film and television preservation.
Products and positioning
A member-led, nonprofit professional association serving the global moving-image archival community through cooperation, education, advocacy, and knowledge exchange.
Professional membership · 1991
AMIA Membership
Individual and institutional membership for archivists and others working in or interested in moving-image preservation. The membership network supports professional exchange among public and commercial archives, libraries, museums, universities, media organizations, and related specialists.
Conference and education
AMIA Annual Conference
AMIA's principal recurring professional gathering, offering presentations, workshops, networking, and discussion of preservation, cataloguing, rights, digitization, access, and other moving-image archival issues.
Professional development · 2009
Committees and Task Forces
Volunteer-led groups through which AMIA develops specialist knowledge, education, advocacy, policy, and project work. Committees address continuing areas of professional practice, while task forces are created for defined assignments.
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