National Union of Mineworkers (South Wales Area), and the Department of Adult and Continuing Education, Swansea University

The use of video recording in historical research and adult education was first realised at the South Wales Miners' Library in the mid-1970s. Links with an educational centre in the USA prompted the Miners' Library to develop its own programme of video recordings, beginning with the tape recording of Extra-Mural speakers and studio interviews, and then moving to on-location filming. The Second South Wales Coalfield Research Project (1979-1982) made a major contribution, collecting material that was edited to produce tapes such as the Glyncastle Project (GB 217 SWCC:VID/Project/1). Co-operation with other bodies produced more tapes, such as the 1981 Strike (GB 217 SWCC:VID/Project/2) produced with Cardiff Community Video Workshop.

Extra-mural classes organised by the Department of Adult and Continuing Education in what is now Swansea University, were a significant focus of the recording, such as an adult local history class in the Dulias Valley which worked as a research group in producing Maesmarchog Local History Class (GB 217 SWCC:VID/Project/7), a social history of the valley. Several teaching tapes were produced using a range of local historical sources, such as Dan Lewis Remembers (GB 217 SWCC:VID/Project/14), which was widely used in schools, community groups, adult education classes, conferences and colleges.

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