We use Optical Character Recognition (OCR) during our scanning and processing workflow to make the content of each page searchable. You can view the automatically generated text below as well as copy and paste individual pieces of text to quote in your own work.
Text recognition is never 100% accurate. Many parts of the scanned page may not be reflected in the OCR text output, including: images, page layout, certain fonts or handwriting.
io85 —
than one might think, for, after all, the films should, and can be made to pay. In Germany for instance, the Scientific and Medical Film Library of Hamburg is self supporting and in Italy the National Institute, « Luce » costs the State nothing. The capital necessary for the original endowment of a film library can, by the rental of the films, not only be paid back but a regular revenue may be obtained. But it is essential to find a good system and to know how to use it.
As for the co-ordination of supply and demand in the production and use of educational films; this is already in hand. It is one of the principal tasks which the International Institute of Educational Cinematography has undertaken. This is a most delicate work, demanding great technical competence and wide experience of International affairs. It is a question of knowing whether the potential demand for films, formulated by the pioneers in culture, corresponds to the economic possibilities of their respective countries or not, of knowing too what films have universal interest — biological films for instance — whose production should be encouraged, what films can interest only one race — religious dramas, for instance — or simply one country — like some national event. It is on these lines that production can be stimulated and crises avoided.
All this of course takes for granted the creation, in each country, of Commissions composed of professors and members of Institutes alike, to judge the needs of national culture and the exigencies of instruction in each of their respective countries.
It is then by means of the League of Nations, and more especially of the I. C. E. and its publication, specialised in matters of the cinema, that the International Council of Women should be able to solicit all the States to establish film libraries. It should explain to them all contemporary difficulties which, as a matter of fact will become gradually less formidable as production costs and transport expenses will permit. It must show them at the same time the future advantages that these reserves of educational and general culture films, removed from the hands of speculators and incompetent persons, could bring to the task of raising the intellectual levels of their respective peoples.
It would be likewise necessary to launch a campaign in favour of travelling cinemas and their endowment with films of social propaganda, agricultural, hygienic, national, etc., what France, Italy, Poland and Bulgaria, amongst other countries, have accomplished in this sector deserves to be studied. The educative and recreational travelling cinema is about the only means of stimulating spiritually and amusing healthily those illiterate and ignorant populations of remote country-sides. It is the one method of replacing the printed book. Russia works a great deal in this direction. It is to be hoped that those countries which, for the moment, cannot establish central, regional or local film libraries may at least equip travelling cinemas by means of which those films which are momentarily available may circulate.