National Archives and Records Service film-vault fire at Suitland, Md. : hearings before a subcommittee of the Committee on Government Operations, House of Representatives, Ninety-sixth Congress, first session, June 19 and 21, 1979 (1979)

Record Details:

Title:
National Archives and Records Service film-vault fire at Suitland, Md. : hearings before a subcommittee of the Committee on Government Operations, House of Representatives, Ninety-sixth Congress, first session, June 19 and 21, 1979
Date:
1979
Publisher:
Washington : U.S. Govt. Print. Off.
Volume:
National Archives and Records Service film-vault fire at Suitland, Md. : hearings before a subcommittee of the Committee on Government Operations, House of Representatives, Ninety-sixth Congress, first session, June 19 and 21, 1979
Leaf #:
000447
Language:
English
Subjects:
Washington National Records Center. Building A, Motion picture film collections
Collection:
Books and Government & Law
Format:
Books
Contributor:
Prelinger Library
Sponsor:
Internet Archive
Coordinator:
Media History Digital Library
Description:
Date Added:
July 19, 2022
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423 HANDLING NEGATIVES Another foctor affects both nitrate and safety nev/sreel f i Inv. AH of the commercial newsreel libraries conduct reference service from the negative copies. This means that negatives are routinely handled in the newsreel libraries, mostly on manual rewinds with Ace viewers. One library is using automated equipment part of the time. Although their staffs have had many years of experience in handling fi)m, special precautions are still necessary v;hen handling negatives. Occasionally researchers of varying degrees of experience are left to their own devices. Newsreel libraries, except for the most selective subjects of potential commercial value, will not make safety copies for preservation let alone positive copies for reference. OTHER FACTORS Extant newsreel still intact are especially valuable prior to 1950 because they may contain unique information. Combined negatives are not generally encountered until well into the safety period. The nitrate negatives, on the other hand, are broken down into smaller rolls according to story. Many stories are missing or deteriorated. Separate narrative sound tracks were not usually saved since they had little or no stock shot value. What relatively little sound survives among the nitrate negatives consists mainly of synchronized speeches. Newsreel prints in collectors' hands may be the only source of narrative sound for the nitrate period. Only the narrative scripts for Universal Newsreel and Movietone News have been located. VIDEOTAPE Any notion that video tape v;i 1 1 serve as a panacea for newsreel presei vation should be dismissed. First, video tape is not a permanent record medium because of problems inherent in permanently binding magnetic oxide to the base and the problem posed by "print thru" over long periods of storage.