The Film Preservation Guide: The Basics for Archives, Libraries, and Museums

by National Film Preservation Foundation (U

For many libraries, museums, and archives the hardest step in preserving film collections is getting started. The Film Preservation Guide is designed for these organizations. It introduces film preservation to nonprofit and public institutions that have collections of motion picture film but lack information about how to take care of them. Written and produced by the National Film Preservation Foundation, the book is a primer for “beginners”—professionals trained in archival studies, librarianship, museum work, or history but unschooled in this technical specialty.

The guide grew from user workshops at Duke University and the Minnesota Historical Society. At the sessions, beginners talked with technical experts about what they needed to know in order to preserve and make available their film collections. "Keep it simple!" was the watchword of the discussions.

Following this advice, the guide describes methods for handling, duplicating, making available, and storing film that are practical for research institutions with limited resources. It is organized in chapters tracing the path of film through the preservation process, from acquisition to exhibition, and includes case studies, photo-illustrations prepared by the staff of George Eastman House, charts, 10-page glossary, bibliography, and index.

The Film Preservation Guide was made possible through the support of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the contribution of scores of preservationists. The publication has been translated into Chinese, Farsi, Japanese, Korean, and Thai and is used by film archivists around the world.

Genres: Film, Nonfiction, Media Tie In

121 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[Jae]

i have read it all. i’m so dizzy. but i have gained Knowledge™️ (if not, once again, a bit outdated knowledge)

[Ethan Hulbert · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Film Preservation Guide: The Basics for Archives, Libraries, and Museums is this wonderful book by the National Film Preservation Foundation that is exactly what it says it is. And boy is it thorough and complete. It’s pretty cool that the foundation is able to offer such a well-written, detailed, and comprehensive textbook like this – and guess what, it’s free! No strings attached, download the whole thing or just the chapters you need. What a boon to the archive community.

I have a bachelor’s degree in film. I don’t really actively involve myself in the industry anymore, so my experience is less current – hence why I don’t usually advertise it.

That being said, I’ve always had a fascination with film. I mean actual film, black & white or color, 16mm, 35mm, super 8, whatever, I love it. It’s something I’ve put a lot of time into. And editing film, slicing it up with a razor blade and splicing it back together by hand with tape on a block, is one of the most fun and constructive activities I know of. I used to make found footage films and still have boxes full of extra film. I keep telling myself I’ll make more… one of these days…

Anyway, the point is I know a good deal about film already, and film history too. Preservation ties into history quite a bit since film has changed in composition over the years, from nitrate to cellulose to vinyl, and these materials have vastly different handling and storage methods (especially nitrate, which can be very hazardous and flammable).

The book begins with the most basic question – why preserve film in the first place? What’s it good for? Who preserves it? What do you do with it? Then we move on to study the material of the film itself. While newer film is relatively easy to store, old nitrate film can be explosive and has to be disposed of according to various federal hazardous waste regulations. The damage can take different forms, such as shrinkage, mold, heat exposure, fogging, and more. While I think deteriorating film is beautiful, it’s certainly not good to lose important pieces of culture in this way.

Luckily, this book goes on to contain all the proper methods of handling, preventing, and repairing the damage – as much as possible, anyway. Duplication is the best bet to save film, and having master tracks that get more permanent storage as well as cheaper, easier-to-access VHS or digital copies which lack every detail of film, but still get the content across for most casual researchers.

This really is a comprehensive guide, because it goes on to talk about long term storage facilities, legal rights for saving film, the best ways to give the public access, and more. The end contains all the important details any professional would need to know. It even gives you questions to ask an archivist to know what exactly they’re doing if you’re giving them your film.

While obviously more study and experience would teach me more, I really feel like this book did a wonderful job getting me into this. It’s a great resource for the layperson or the expert alike. I’m looking forward to handling my film again with a little more knowledge of the medium in general. I highly recommend this book. And since you get it for free, why not check it out now?

[Gina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick easy. Great stepping off point for film and archival preservation work

[Ashley (Red-Haired Ash Reads) · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great guide to beginners at film preservation. I initially started reading this to learn about film identification but ended up reading the whole thing because film requires different preservation techniques that paper, which is what I am familiar with. This guide was extremely helpful and I know I will continue to refer to this guide as I work with film.

[Timothy Yim-Stueve]

Selznick pilled