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Preface
By James H. Billington This year, film is one hundred years old. Throughout its history. Librarian of Congress film has been a powerful force in American culture and national life, often shaping our very notion of contemporary events. Our challenge now is to appreciate its fullness and diversity and to protect our rich heritage for the study and enjoyment of future generations.
With the passage of the 1992 National Film Preservation Act, Congress recognized the strong national interest in preserving motion pictures as an art form and a record of our times. This landmark legislation directed the Library in consultation with my advisory group, the National Film Preservation Board, to conduct a national study on the state of American film preservation and to design an effective program to improve current practices and to coordinate preservation efforts among studios and archives.
The report, submitted to Congress in June 1993, documented a film heritage at-risk. Of America's feature films of the 1920s fewer than 20% survive; and for the 1910s, the survival rate falls to half that. But what is even more alarming is that motion pictures, both old and new, face inevitable destruction-old films from nitrate deterioration and newer films from color fading and the "vinegar syndrome." Only by storing films in low-temperature and low-humidity environments can nature's decay processes be slowed. The majority of American films, from newsreels to avant-garde works, do not receive this type of care and are in critical need of preservation.
While it is difficult to diagnose problems, it is even more difficult to solve them. In the field of film preservation, there has not been a history of coordination: Archives and studios have too often worked in isolation, duplicating one another's efforts.
The Library and National Film Preservation Board saw the importance of bringing a fresh approach to these problems. We called upon the field to set aside old differences, share ideas, and work together in developing a coordinated national strategy. Film preservationists rose to the challenge. Over the past six months, representatives across the film community-from the motion picture studios, nonprofit and public archives, repertory theaters, laboratories, universities, and the creative community -have participated in the planning process.
The tangible product of their work is this document. Redefining Film Preservation: A National Plan outlines basic steps that must be taken to save American films and make them more accessible to the public.