The Library of Congress will serve as the permanent host site for MIC, providing infrastructure and management staffing to support MIC's long-term maintenance and ongoing development.

The Library of Congress began collecting motion pictures in 1893 when Thomas Edison and his assistant W.K.L. Dickson deposited the Edison Kinetoscopic Records for copyright. However, because of the difficulty of safely storing the flammable nitrate film used at the time, the Library retained only the descriptive material relating to motion pictures. In 1942, recognizing the importance of motion pictures and the need to preserve them as a historical record, the Library began the collection of the films themselves. From 1949 on these included films made for television. Today the Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division (MBRS) has responsibility for the acquisition, cataloging and preservation of the motion picture and television collections. The Division operates the Motion Picture and Television Reading Room to provide access and information services to an international community of film and television professionals, archivists, scholars and researchers.

The Division also administers the, National Film Preservation Board, a Congressionally-created advisory body which counsels the Librarian of Congress on national film preservation planning policy and annual selections to the National Film Registry.

The Association of Moving Image Archivists (AMIA), in accordance with its organizational mission, is responsible for developing MIC's educational content. AMIA committees, interest groups, task forces, and other contributors develop the site's informational resources through the working groups of the MIC Education and Outreach Committee.

AMIA is the largest non-profit professional membership association for individuals and institutions concerned with the preservation of moving images. Incorporated in 1991, AMIA was established to advance the field of moving image archiving by fostering cooperation among those concerned with the acquisition, description, preservation, exhibition and use of moving image materials. With an international membership of over 750, individuals and organizations from a wide variety of constituencies are represented. In addition to its publication and education programs, AMIA holds an annual conference, develops and promotes standards, encourages fieldwide communication through its online discussion list, honors the work of archivists and archival organizations, administers a scholarship and fellowship program and collaborates with other institutions and organizations to design, promote and implement national moving image preservation policies and plans.

The National Science Foundation

MIC’s first phase of development (2002-2005) is funded in large part by the National Science Foundation as part of the National Science Digital Library.

The National Science Digital Library is an innovative portal to web-based science materials in support of 21st Century science educatio.

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