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1. Building a National Plan
This document is an action plan to save America's film heritage for future generations. Recognizing film as an important cultural resource, the National Film Preservation Act of 1992' directed the Librarian of Congress and his advisory panel, the National Film Preservation Board, to rethink how American film preservation is practiced. Over the following year, the Librarian and the Board conducted a nationwide study to document the current state of American film preservation. Over 100 experts from the film industry, public and nonprofit archives,' and the educational community contributed information through public testimony, interviews and written comment. Film Preservation 1993, a fourvolume study submitted to Congress that July, reports the findings.'
The key conclusion of Film Preservation 1993 is that motion pictures of all types are deteriorating faster than archives can preserve them. Film is a fragile medium, intended for brief commercial life; preservation aims at slowing its inevitable decay through environmentally controlled storage and duplication onto newer filmstock. But film preservation involves more than extending the physical life of film. It also involves questions of ownership and access. Films made by American motion picture companies and independent filmmakers are privately owned but publicly experienced. Indeed, for most films in public collections, copyright remains with the donors, depositors or creators. A national plan must recognize, balance and integrate the interests of film owners and film users.
Redefining Film Preservation: A National Plan builds upon the earlier study. The plan outlines recommendations to improve the state of American film preservation over the next five years, especially by fostering better coordination among archives, the motion picture industry, independent filmmakers, the educational community, and others concerned with the survival and accessibility of American film.
This national plan is a collaborative work. It is constructed in the belief that only through the efforts of the entire film community and the support of the public can significant progress be made to save American film. In this spirit, the plan unites the ideas of four task forces and a special National Film Preservation Board committee appointed by the Librarian of Congress to develop solutions to the issues raised in Film Preservation 1993. Representing a cross-section of the participants in die earlier study, each planning group brought diverse points of view to a single issue area: physical preservation,
Building a National Plan