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Vol. 25:2 ISSN 0160-8460 Summer 1997
AFI & Wolfson Center Publish NHPRC-Funded Guidebook for Preserving TV News Collections
On June 16, 1997, the Louis Wolfson II Media History Center and the American Film Institute's National Center for Film and Video Preservation (NCFVP) announced the publication of a new preservation guidebook entitled The Administration of Television Newsfilm and Videotape Collections: A Curatorial Manual. This 250-page book provides detailed information and over 200 illustrative photographs covering all aspects of TV news archival practice. The first publication of its kind, the manual addresses the needs of one of the largest constituencies in the moving image preservation community, with a special emphasis on issues facing the many television archives operating at local and regional levels. At the same time, the book contains general information on the preservation, storage, cataloging, and use of film and videotape materials that will be of interest to archivist responsible for other kinds of collections as well.
Edited by Steven Davidson of the Wolfson Center and Gregory Lukow of the NCFVP, the manual was produced through a collaborative effort made possible by a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission in Washington, DC. The NHPRC has a strong history of support for local news collections, having funded the first national conference of television news archives in 1987 and provided individual grants to a range of such institutions during the past 15 years.
With 14 chapters written by 15 contributors, plus a detailed bibliography, the manual draws on the experiences of moving image archivists and other experts who have been pioneers in the field. Chapters include: "TV As History: The Importance of Television Preservation" by Barry Sherman and Louise Benjamin; "A History of Television Newsgathering Formats" by Alan Lewis; "Appraisal of Collections" by Ernest Dick; "Station-Archive Relations" and "Videotape Issues and Concerns" by Steven Davidson; "A Case Study: Newsfilm Preservation Project at the State Historical Society of North Dakota" by Gerald Newborg; "The Preservation of News and Documentary Film" by William Murphy; "Arrangement and Description" by Helene Whitson and Gerry Yeager; "Cataloging" by Jane Dunbar Johnson; "Research and Reference Services" by Dan Den Bleyker; "Licensing Footage: A Researcher's Perspective" by Kenn Rabin; "Shopping In Film Archives: A Producer's View" by James DeVinney; "Television Archives and the Academic" by Brian Rose; and "Outreach" by Karan Sheldon.
Television news collections provide an invaluable record of our day-to-day activities and serve as primary source materials documenting the events shaping our history and culture. But despite this value, television news is among the most endangered of moving image materials. Preserving a news collection can involve millions of feet of film or thousands of hours of tape, plus a challenging array of legal and financial concerns. Decades worth of coverage have already been thrown away, and basic information on key archival questions regarding the appraisal, preservation and documentation of the materials has been lacking. The Administration of Television Newsfilm and Videotape Collections serves as a tool for archivists and librarians - many of whom may have no previous experience with moving images - to help answer these questions that arise in acquiring and managing news collections. It also facilitates relations between archives and stations by giving a better understanding of the work and resources necessary to safeguard our TV news heritage.
Copies of the manual can be ordered from either the AFI National Center or the Wolfson Center at the addresses below. In North America, the cost is $41, which includes shipping and handling. For orders outside North America, the total cost is $47 in U.S. funds. Send checks or money orders to: National Center for Film and Video Preservation, American Film Institute, 2021 North Western Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90027 (Fax: 213-856-7616) or to: Louis Wolfson II Media History Center, Miami-Dade Public Library, 101 West Flagler Street, Miami, FL 33130 (Fax: 305-375-4436).
Film technician examines film using manual rewinds, viewing images on a moviescope viewer. Photo courtesy of the Louis Wolfson II Media History Center, Miami, Florida.
