Film Records Management

Abstract

records management is still in its infancy. The National Archives years ago established the record character of photographic materials, developed record copy concepts, made valuable studies on the storage and flammability of nitrate film, and explored the field of finding aids. Until recently, however, the influence of the National Archives was not felt to any large degree within those units of Federal or State governments that produce film records. Such units are usually part of technical organizations that are more interested in the current use of records than in their historical evaluation or permanent preservation. But with the recent recognition of the tangible and intangible benefits of records management, archival concepts are being adopted and procedures for the handling of film records are being developed by such organizations as the United States Air Force Motion Picture Film Depository at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. As such agencies meet and solve the problems posed by the centralization, evaluation, and handling of film records, data for the guidance of other organizations will become available. Some scattered data on technical problems already can be found in special journals, such as that of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers. Much information is being1 collected, too, by new groups that serve as focal points for the centralization of knowledge about the scope of pictorial holdings. Among the groups active in this field are the Picture Division of the Special Libraries Association, which publishes Picturescope; the Graphic History Society of America, which publishes Eye to Eye; the George Eastman House, which publishes Image; and the Society of American Archivists Committee on Audio-Visual Records, which was established in 1953. While these organizations have not yet reached the point of recommending what can or should be done to preserve