Visitors to Medway’s libraries can now watch thousands of newly digitised stories from BFI National Archive and partner UK Regions and Nations Film Archives, for free.
All of Medway’s 15 libraries now have BFI Replay – a new, unique free streaming service from British Film Institute (BFI).
Explore what your parents and carers or even your grandparents and older generations may have watched – with free access to 60 years’ worth of television history to view.
The BFI is a cultural charity governed by Royal Charter — and the UK’s lead organisation for film, television and the moving image.
The organisation brings film, television and the moving image to life, helping us to connect and understand each other better. The BFI National Archive is the world’s largest film and television collection. The BFI offers the widest range of UK and international moving image culture through their cultural programmes and festivals, in cinemas and online.
The new service is exclusively available to UK-wide public lending libraries and can be accessed within Medway’s libraries either on a library computer or on user’s own device when connected to the library’s Wi-Fi.
Collection highlights include a focus on Britain’s best-loved soap operas including Coronation Street, Brookside and Emmerdale as well as General Hospital and Family Pride – the first British-Asian soap opera. Children’s TV classics including episodes of Metal Mickey and Animal Kwackers are also available.
The BFI Lottery-funded programme with the support of Esmée Fairbairn Foundation has digitised 100,000 items that would otherwise be lost forever across a range of tape formats and different types of videos filmed by both professionals and amateurs from the early 1960s to around 2010.
Visit your local library and find out more
Cllr Harinder Mahil, Medway Council’s Portfolio Holder for Heritage, Culture and Leisure, said: “I am delighted that residents can now access 60 years of film, television and video from across the United Kingdom. Medway’s libraries and community hubs are at the very heart of our communities and we are incredibly proud of everything they offer which includes social clubs and groups, a wide range of activities, an extensive collection of books and Ebooks, access to the internet and now thousands of videos thanks to BFI Replay. I would encourage residents to visit their local library to find out more.”
Find out more about Medway’s libraries
Residents can access the Replay catalogue in UK public lending libraries by visiting: replay.bfi.org.uk