The Educational screen (c1922-c1956])

February, 19}6 Page 39 Experiences with a State Cooperative Film Library By RUSSELL T. GREGG Supervisor of Visual Aids Service, and Assistant Principal of University High School, University of Illinois THE cjoperative plan, by means of which a li- brary of educational films has been developed in Illinois, has aroused widespread interest. This article has been prepared in answer to a num- ber of requests for information about the plan. It is ho])ed that the following explanation may en- able other schools interested in building film li- braries to overcome in some measure the difficulties arising from the lack of sufficient appropriated funds. In the winter of 1931-32 a committee of school superintendents asked the president of the Univer- sity of Illinois if it were not desirable and practica- ble for the University to develop a library of visual aids for the use of the schools in the state. The superintendents pointed out that certain other state universities were providing the schools in their states with such materials, that there was a demand for these materials among Illinois teachers, and ad- ministrators, and that there was no source in the- state which could satisfy the demand. As a result of this request, a member of the fac- ulty of the College of Education was asked to make a survey to determine what other universities were doing in the field of visual education. Sources were to be canvassed from which visual education ma- terials could be secured, either by free loan or by purchase. The findings of this survey were re- ported to the dean of the College of Education, and during the summer of 1932 the writer was asked to inaugurate the Visual Aids Service for the schools of Illinois and to serve as the supervisor of this service.* Unfortunately no funds were available for the purchase of materials. The motion-picture films and glass slides oflfered during the school year 1932-33 were therefore secured from many widely separated sources on an indefinite free-loan plan.'' Before securing any materials, however, the su- pervisor thought it wise to make a preliminary survey of a number of representative schools of the state to determine the kind of projection equipment iThe Visual Aids Service has since been transferred from the College of Education to the Division of University Exten- sion. ^Persons interested in locating sources of films may consult one or both of the following: 1000 and One—the Blue Book of Non-Theatrical Films, Chicago, the Educational Screen, Inc.; Directory of Film Sources, Davenport, la., Victor Ani- matograph Corporation. they weie using. This survey revealed the fact that only a few of the schools were equipped with 16-mm. projectors, while a large number of them were equipped with 35-mm. projectors. Many were equipped with lantern-slide projectors. In the light of these findings it was decided to begin with a li- brary made up largely of 35-mm. films and glass slides, although the educational advantages of the 16-mm. filtu were fully recognized. Mimeographed catalogs listing the titles and brief descriptions of one hundred and forty-eight 35-mm. films, thirty 16-mm. films, and forty-three sets of glass slides in the Visual Aids Service li- brary, were sent to approximately four hundred schools early in the school year 1932-33. All these materials were secured on an indefinite free-loan basis and were selected with one or both of the fol- lowing points in mind: (1) Does an examination of the projected picture indicate that it is of instru- mental value? (2) Is the film listed as an educa- tional film in the catalogs of films published by cer- tain selected universities? By the fall of 1933 several additional schools had been equipped with 16-mm. projectors, and the su- pervisor was very anxious to ofi'er these schools a larger library o f 16-mm. educational films. He found it difficult, however, to secure 16-mm. films on an indefinite free-loan basis, and funds with which to purchase films were not yet forthcoming. As a matter of necessity, therefore, a plan for de- veloping a cooperative film library was formulated and explained by correspondence to a number of selected school administrators. Some of the details have naturally been altered in the last two years, but the plan now in operation and described in the following paragraphs is es- sentially the same as that set up in 1933. To become a member of the cooperative library of 16-mm. silent films a school deposits a 400-ft. reel' of film in the Visual Aids Service library and pays a service fee of $5 a year to cover the cost of inspecting, repairing, and packing the materials. The depositing of the film entitles the school to co- operative membership for a period of two years. At the end of this time the school must deposit an- other film to retain its membership. SThe film deposited must be an Eastman classroom film, or some other film of equivalent value.