Moving Image Collections
A Window to the World's Moving Images
Archivists Portal
Donations & Acquisitions
Contributors: Matthew Darby and Stephen Cohen
Why deposit your film(s) with an archive?
Archives play a central role in preserving America's film heritage. Many filmmakers, from D.W. Griffith to Andy Warhol, are known today largely though works that came into the safekeeping of these institutions. Archives not only make films available for research, study, and appreciation, they also provide secure storage -- often in low-temperature, low-humidity environments designed expressly to protect film. For active filmmakers, archives often make special arrangements to allow continued access to the materials under conditions that insure their preservation ... [
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Introduction to Resources for Donors
The following is a webliography of resources covering how the donation process works, collecting and acquisition policies, examples of deeds of gift and other donor forms, donations vs. deposits, and the like. In an effort to get a wide range of information, this webliography includes Web sites from historical societies, university-affiliated repositories and national archives that collect a variety of moving image materials. In a few cases, resources discuss donations in general and are not specific to moving image materials. This points to the need for more specific information about donating film and video collections.
Society of American Archivists. "Guide to Donating your Personal or Family Papers to a Repository"
This is the Web version of a pamphlet available from the Society of American Archivists that details the importance of depositing materials in an institution, preservation, as well as copyright and access issues.
Collecting Policies
If you are considering donating your moving images to an archive, it is important to take into account how an archive’s collecting policies match up with your collection(s). To help identify organizations which collect subjects and types of moving images like yours, search Archive Explore.
Following are selected collecting policies from a variety of organizations.
Chicago Historical Society. Collections.
Though the Chicago Historical Society’s collections consist of more than moving images, this web page is one of the better resources for donors and potentially could serve as a model for other archives. Most of the information donors would need to consider when deciding to donate materials is here. The page clearly explains the Society’s collecting scope, outlining five thematic subject areas with examples. The page also provides a “wish list” of materials (such as “Original copies of home movies documenting Chicago families”) that provides further guidance for donors. Significantly, the page provides a convenient on-line donation inquiry form, where donors can provide as much descriptive information about the materials as possible. Also, there is a Frequently Asked Questions list that covers many of the questions donors may have, such as the criteria the staff considers when reviewing donations, how long it will take them to reach a decision, whether the donation is tax deductible and others.
Chinese American Museum. Calling for Home Movie Donations. This web page does a very good job of defining for potential donors the scope of materials that the Museum would like to collect, focusing on a specific geographical region, time span and themes and then providing many examples of moving images that would fall within these parameters. This information allows donors to determine whether or not the material they have is appropriate for this institution. The Museum also offers donors the option of sending copies or, at the very least, a brief description of their home movies or videos.
Minnesota Historical Society. How to Donate to the Moving Images Collection. Since the Minnesota Historical Society is not strictly a moving image archive, this web page provides the potential donor with some brief information on the kinds of materials the institution collects, including film and video, but does not go into great detail as to specifically what kinds of moving images they want to acquire. By visiting the main Moving Images Collection page, a donor could compare the items s/he wants to donate with collection descriptions found there. The “Donate” page does, however, give the donor a sense that all potential donations are subject to a selection process and that the staff may not accept materials that fall outside their collecting scope. As is often the case, the page directs potential donors to contact the staff with any questions.
National Air and Space Museum Archives Division. "FAQs: Acquisitions, Donations, & Appraisals" Highlights a number of important issues that are relevant to anyone interested in donating materials to an archives. Topics include: donations vs. loans vs. purchase, collection restrictions, copyright, tax deductions, appraisals, and, most importantly, what the archivists will do with the materials once they are donated.
National Air and Space Museum Archives Division. Archives Donation Inquiry Form. An online donation form potential donors can use to provide a description of their materials to the NASM archivists.
National Anthropological Archives and Human Studies Film Archives. "Donating Collections to Archives". Focuses on collections in general and is directed towards anthropologists. It provides a fine example of Frequently Asked Questions that is quite relevant in the context of donating moving image collections:
- What sorts of material does the archives accept?
- How should I prepare my collection?
- How should I ship my collection to the archives?
- How will the archives acknowledge my donation?
- How do other people learn about my collection?
Provides much of the information that any donor would need to consider before donating materials to an archives. The donor also gets a sense of what will happen to the collection once it is donated and how it will be accessible to researchers and other users.
Northeast Historic Film. "Our Collecting Policy". This web page provides something about donations that many other archives do not. It goes into greater detail about what they want, giving the donor more characteristics of an appropriate donation, such as the importance of uniqueness, documentation (identification or supporting materials) and generation (is it 1st generation or a copy?). The page also lays out a high/low priority system based on these criteria. To further assist the donor, the page links to the Moving Images Collection page, providing an overview of the collections and examples of their major holdings with which donors might compare to the film or video they have.
Pacific Film Archive. "About PFA Collections". This web page asks prospective donors to send an inventory with notes on the condition of the materials. If the materials are deemed acceptable for acquisition, PFA staff will inspect the film or video prior to final approval. If approved, then a deed of gift would be required. While prospective donors to the PFA may not always fall into the category of “general public” (since many donors may be filmmakers or private collectors), their section on “Donating Film and Video” is indicative of much donor information on the Internet; it is often too brief. In order to get the best information possible from donors, it would be helpful to provide some examples of what an inventory should include (gauge or format, title/content, date, etc.). It may also be helpful to explain what a deed of gift is (i.e. a contractual document conferring ownership of physical property and, in some cases copyright, to the archives). While these terms are often second nature to archivists, a layperson may be unfamiliar.
Scottish Screen. "Acquisitions Policy". While this page does not provide comprehensive information for prospective donors, what it does fairly well is explain the concept of donation and the responsibilities of both the donor and the Archive. Also, by presenting donor information in terms of its acquisition policy, Scottish Screen emphasizes the important role that donors play in the formation of the Archive and the value of each donation, a point not always made so clearly at other Web sites.
ScreenSound Australia. "Home Movie Project". Like some other archives, ScreenSound has created a project focusing on the collection of home movies. As such, this web page is specifically directed towards donors. But rather than being only a how-to page, it goes one step further and explains the reasons for collecting this material in the first place. By placing home movies and videos in the context of national heritage, ScreenSound does a better job than most at emphasizing the importance of moving image collections. The page goes on to provide examples of the types of film and video that are appropriate for the Home Movie Project. In addition, the page links to a page that explains donations vs. deposits, a distinction any potential donor should know, and the rights and responsibilities an individual would have in each case.
Yale University, Manuscripts and Archives. "Donating Your Personal Papers or Organizational Records to Manuscripts and Archives". Manuscripts and Archives at Yale University has a general policy for donations which does not specifically target moving images. The policy does explain the whole process whereby restriction on access, copyright, transfer of materials (regardless of format), monetary appraisals, and care for the collection are thoroughly addressed. The University Archives does enforce a policy that specifically addresses moving image materials, but mostly as they pertain to films made by university offices; it is contained with the Manual for Administration of Audio-Visual Materials.
Donor Forms
All donors should be aware of the forms that they will be asked to complete and the agreements they will have to sign when donating or depositing materials with an archives. These sites provide good examples and explanations of this procedure.
In searching online for donation policies and by talking and e-mailing with several moving image archivists, the general impression is that the donation process is different from archives to archives, and often from donor to donor, depending on the complexity of the donor agreement. At the same time, though there may not be a “one-size-fits-all” answer, there does seem to be a desire for standardization of some kind across the profession.
Canadian Television Fund. "Deed of Gift". This is an example of a deed of gift from the National Archives of Canada. Although it is directed toward a particular donation of material (namely video produced under the auspices of the CTF), it specifically covers moving image materials and outlines issues that donors would need to consider, such as the distinction between physical and intellectual rights and how the material will be made available to the general public for viewing at the Archives.
Nebraska State Historical Society. "Home Movie Questionnaire" Paul Eisloeffel of the Nebraska State Historical Society provides potential donors with a form called “Home Movie Questionnaire”. He uses it as a sort of "interview" with the donor or family members to gather background information relating to collections of home movies, and it could easily be adapted and expanded to focus on material donated by filmmakers, news stations and other donors.
Society of American Archivists. "SAA: A Guide to Deeds of Gift". This is the web version of a pamphlet available from the Society of American Archivists that stresses the necessity of signing a deed of gift when donating to an archives and explains what most deeds of gift are likely to contain.
Washington University Libraries, Department of Special Collections. "Deed of Gift". Though not exclusively for moving image materials, the Washington University Libraries, Department of Special Collections provides an on-line example of a deed of gift.
Legal Issues for Depositors
National Film Preservation Board. "Depositing Film with Archives: a Guide to Legal Issues".