BBC and British Library join forces to broaden access to their archives

"The BBC and British Library will today sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), in an innovative approach to make the content and assets of both organisations more widely available. Managed by a joint steering committee, the MOU seeks to develop new ways of integrating access to nearly a million hours of BBC TV and radio content and over 150 million British Library items - significantly increasing access to research material across both national institutions for the benefit of researchers and the wider public. Signed by BBC Director General Mark Thompson and CEO of the British Library Dame Lynne Brindley, the MOU also proposes that the BBC and British Library collaborate to develop viable approaches on important issues - such as rights management, distribution of archive content, digitisation and storage"