INA – An Augmented TV

Abstract This paper describes the extraordinary tool available for the French, in the field of the preservation and provision of audiovisual archives (news, television, radio and Internet). Created in 1974, the National Audiovisual Institute (INA), a public service, was commissioned to collect from radio and television stations archives and programs broadcast by state radio and television for professionals. In a second phase, INA opened its collections to researchers and academics, and more recently, to the general public. INA has also built documentary and research tools. Therefore it can be said that the availability of this audiovisual heritage not only promotes the quality of research on the content of radio and television, but also that the possibility for citizens to consult – through the Internet – a part of these archives might modify the memorial heritage of our contemporaries.