SignDNA greatly values the support of the Deaf community and others in finding relevant material and sharing them with us so that we can include it in our archive for everyone’s enjoyment and learning. We consider all artefacts to be taonga (culturally valued item) and try to treat them in a way that recognises the artefact’s mana.
Do SignDNA want any old material?
All items offered to SignDNA will go through an appraisal and approval process to see if they are worth processing into the archive. Not all old material is worth keeping! If you are interested in offering us material, the first step is to get in touch with us and we can first discuss with you what you are seeking to donate. We greatly appreciate people donating content to the archive, however digitising and processing donated material takes a lot of time and resources and for this reason we ask that you discuss your donation with us first to make sure it is going to be useful for the archive.
What is the best way of discussing my donation?
Before sending materials to SignDNA, donors should contact the archive, either through our ‘Donate items’ form, or talk to us face-to-face (online or in person).
What do SignDNA need to know about my donation?
To help our pre-assessment, please tell us more about the materials. How many items are there to donate? What decade are they from? What types of things do you have to donate (e.g. film, photos, journals, etc). If they are films or videos, what are they stored on (e.g. Super 8 or VHS, etc). We also want to know your connection to the material. Who is the copyright owner, if known? Are you happy for us to allow public access to this material through the online signdna.org archive? Are you happy for your material to be reused in any of these circumstances: personal use, educational use, commercial use, or as part of a gallery or display? We will discuss these issues with you either face-to-face, or through NZSL video or email, depending on your preference.
Are there some materials SignDNA cannot accept?
Processing material into the archive takes time and resources. This means we have to be fussy with the material we select to include. The material for donation must be connected to New Zealand Deaf culture in some way, either produced by the Deaf community, or is about the Deaf community. Material that is only about Deaf communities overseas cannot be accepted.
Sometimes material is Deaf-related but is of a very personal nature (such as a funeral for a Deaf person, or even a wedding). In these cases we need to check and make sure the whānau of those concerned are happy for the material to be included. If films, videos or photographs contain images of children that are fully or partially unclothed (e.g. swimming) then we need to be careful and sensitive in processing that material and it most likely will not be included in the archive without some adjustment (e.g. removal, blurring etc), or not included at all. This is also similarly true for images of adults.
SignDNA also cannot accept materials that we already have in our collection, with one exception: if the material being offered is in a better condition than the version we already have digitised, we will accept it and update our collection with the new better version.
Can I get back the material I deposit?
Yes. SignDNA provides an archival service for your material but you remain the owner. When you deposit your material with us, you are asked whether you would like it back with the digitised files.
All deposits will go through a selection and approval process. We will review your materials and contact you to advise whether the items meet our selection and acquisition criteria.
Will SignDNA digitise my material?
Our goal is to collect, preserve and present documents, videos and other artefacts relevant to Deaf culture and history in Aotearoa New Zealand. We endeavour to digitally preserve materials that meet our goal. Digitising some items is more urgent than others. For example, old films decay faster than documents. Digitisation is also resource-intensive and we cannot guarantee that your material will be digitised within a certain timeframe. We will discuss this with you.
Once your materials are accepted and digitised, donors are approached to provide additional information about the material. This includes names of people in the item.
Is it free to deposit with SignDNA?
Yes. We are dependent on funding and donations to digitise items, and sometimes funding requires us to digitise certain materials. SignDNA does not charge donors for donating their materials to the archive. We have a small climate-controlled storage space and office in Auckland where we keep the donated items. It’s not a big space however and for this reason, we request that people donating materials have them returned once digitised.
Will I be acknowledged for my donation?
The taonga source for all items (i.e. where the taonga came from) along with additional bibliographical and production information are acknowledged and noted with the artefact on the archive. Donors of video footage in particular are encouraged to submit their individual photos or organisation branding – if the taonga items are donated from the organisation – so that we can include that recognition on the website. We recognise that sometimes there are many copies of an item, and it can be difficult to confirm the original taonga source. For example, when many people have copies of a recording made by a person unknown. In such cases, SignDNA will select the best recording and acknowledge the donor of that particular copy. If SignDNA has mistakenly assigned the taonga source of any item, please get in touch with us.
Does my donated item need to be good quality?
The quality of a reproduction or copy of an item held by SignDNA depends on the condition of the original. For example, where the original is damaged or faded, we cannot guarantee the legibility of any copy provided and digitised. Due to the risk of damage, it may not be possible to copy some donated items if their condition is fragile or damaged, for example film or videos that have deteriorated, or old newspapers that have become too delicate.