The values, ethics, principles and perceptions implicit to audiovisual archiving are the topics of the UNESCO publication "A Philosophy of Audiovisual Archiving". This study by Ray Edmonson and members of the Audiovisual Archiving Philosophy Interest Network (AVAPIN) is a first attempt to codify the philosophical basis of the profession of audiovisual archiving. First published in 1998, it is now also on-line available in French and Spanish. It intends to assist archivists to meet the challenges growing out of the increasing importance of the audiovisual media. The study explains how the obvious and increasing importance of the audiovisual media as a part of the world's memory has led to a rapid expansion of archiving activity, most notably within commercial or semi-commercial settings beyond the ambit of the traditional institutional archives. Large sums are being spent, but because of the absence of defined and accepted professional reference points, perhaps not always to best effect. Decades of accumulated practical experience in audiovisual archives have by now provided a foundation from which to signal more strongly, by codifying this experience, the possibilities of maximizing the potential gains - and the consequences of missing the opportunities. Individual practitioners in audiovisual archives lacked a clear professional identity and recognition - within the collecting professions, government, the audiovisual industries and the community in general. They also lacked the critical reference point - a theoretical synthesis of the values, ethics, principles and perceptions implicit in the field - vital to achieving that recognition. This made them both intellectually and strategically vulnerable. The descriptive rather than prescriptive study does not intent to invent or impose theories or constructs. It tries to understand what philosophical principles arise from the nature of the audiovisual media, rather than by automatic analogy from elsewhere.        Contact Joie Springer, UNESCO, Information and Informatics Division