Annotated Bibliography- Weeding Films

Feeney, M., Elliott, C., & Jenkins, J. (2015, May 7). Up from the depths: return of the 16 mm film, or how to weed your film collection. Collection Management, 40(2), 67-82. https://doi.org/10.1080/01462679.2015.1009963

A danger of deselection is an assumption that outdated media formats are worthless. Most librarians are familiar with books, but AV materials, especially unused, dusty old film canisters, are out of their purview and comfort zone. Regardless, these items need to be given due consideration and inviting expert faculty for assistance is a good move. There may be one-of-a kind treasure to be found, that even if not within the scope of a library’s collection, could be of great value to another institution. Undertaking a project like this will take up time and resources, but it can be done.

Summary:

Most AV collections that belong to libraries began to develop around the 1960s with education films, later transitioning to videotapes and DVDs. The films that are most often found are 16 mm films and collections that have them average over 1,500 films. There are a few different conflicts facing libraries with those film collections: a lack of storage space, little to no playback equipment, no proper handling and storage knowledge, or the item itself is unknown with no description. Nearly a third of libraries that hold a film collection report that they have little or no records for the films included in their catalogs.

These films are also rare; as technology advanced, many libraries simply disposed of their film collections assuming that the information was out of date or not worth transferring to another format. Many scholars have been finding the value in the film’s reflection of the time in which they were produced; a visual history reflecting people and places that is not available anywhere else.

The University of Arizona’s film collection originated as a film rental library in the 1930s where faculty, students, and K-12 schools throughout the state had access to the items. By the 1960s, there were over 4,500 films available to schools and universities all over the country to access. By the 1990s, usage began to decline as information became more locally accessible on VHS and later DVD. In 2012, as the library looked to expand their special collections space, the largely unused 16 mm collection came up for deselection review. It was decided that only material related to local interest would be digitized.

As the process began, the librarians heading up the review found that the scope and content of the collection was not identified and that many of the items were not in the catalog or if there were, had little metadata or description. In addition, they found that the usage of the collection was non-existent, but that the faculty had no idea how to request access to the items. Another barrier to access was that the 16mm film projector was held in another facility with shorter hours than the film collection facility. Faculty reported that they preferred to show students moving images rather than streaming content, in part because it allowed students to experience the sights and sounds of a film as they were intended to be experienced and that they would likely not find elsewhere.

Given the new information, the deselection team decided to slow down the process to give each item due consideration as well as involve a faculty member to help facilitate the process and give expert advice. They began an extensive research project to find out content, regional importance, local production information, holdings at other facilities, and availability in other formats. They found that in addition to educational films, they possessed documentaries, silent films, and cartoons. This was because the collection had been used for campus film festivals and student group and special interest screenings.

At the end of the project, the team had determined that half of the collection could be donated (and found willing receptacles with the help of the faculty advisor), a plan to redistribute some to other areas of the campus (Main Library, Special Collection, English Dept, Photo Dept, etc.), and some to put up for sale as they are available in abundance. Catalog records and access processes were improved. The faculty advisor also created a new course offering during this process to review the silent film collection and found that students were deeply interested in seeing and experiencing this format.