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)

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448 10 , •;, (a) $937,000 would have been used to refilm what is now on 70mm film and for converting the remaining 2.2 million nitrate images to 105mm film. (b) It would vary from k minimum of 4 to 5 years to a maximum of 9 or 10 depending upon (a) the number of 105mm cameras utilized, (b) the number of shifts employed and (c) the amount of work that can be performed for NARS by the Defense Intelligence Agency . (c) Records of expenditures for converting these records show that approximately $177,000 was expended from 1969 to 197G. There are no records showing costs for this particular preservation program during the years 1964-1968. We estimate an additional $60,000 to" $70,000 was spent during these 5 years. 31. How much has NARS received from private donors to convert nitrate film? Who were the donors and hov.' big were their collections? The Ford Film Collection consisting of 1.5 million feet of nitrate film was donated to the National Archives by Henry Ford n in 1963. With the gift of the film collection the Ford Motor Company also donated $200,000 to the National Archives Trust Fund for the purpose of appraising, cataloging, and copying the nitrate onto safety base film. 32. Based on the figures cited in the supplemental request, is it reasonable to assume that before the August 1977, vault building fire, the Archives was spending about a quarter of a million dollars annually to convert nitrate film? (Before the fire, conversion was proceeding at a rate of about 3 million a year, costing an estimated $790,000, including funds for 300,000 aerial photo frames.) The parenthetical statement shown above applies only to the FY 1979 program for nitrate conversion. Reprogrammed funds from FY 1978 were utilized to finance this accelerated conversion program. Prior to FY 1977 we have records delineating nitrate movie conversion only since 1974. The nitrate motion picture footage converted each year averaged 400,000 feet per year or approximately $100,000. 33. Hov; much of the work is now being done on contract? All present aerial conversion is now being done on contract. Aerial indexes ("^'edcom) $45,000 obligated; 70mm enhanced copies (EPA) $45,000 obligated; 1:1 copies (DIA) $52,169 obligated. (a) Aerial film: AU present aerial conversion v.'ork is being done on contract or under interagency agreements. These contracts and interagency agreements total approximately $142,000. (b) No nitrate motion picture film is being done on contract. NAilS has an agreement with Bono Laboratories that would allow us to send them any footage that cannot be accommodated in the NARS preservation laboratory. Within current funding, however, NARS has been able to convert the film as quickly as it is prepared. 34. What services are suffering because of the crash conversion program? The crash conversion program has made it necessary to eliminate, for the time being, customer reproductions of Universal nitrate era-footage. This is the most heavily used