CASE STUDY COMMUNITY COPIES AT THE UNIVERSITY OF

CASE STUDY: COMMUNITY COPIES AT THE UNIVERSITY OF UTAH MOLLY ROSE STEED AMIA 2016 – PITTSBURGH, PA

COMMUNITY COPIES AND U

UNIVERSITY OF UTAH AUDIO-VISUAL ARCHIVE • Part of Special Collections at the J. Willard Marriott Library • Official repository for University of Utah moving image and sound materials “of permanent historic value” • Actively collects additional material with local and regional focus • History of request-driven on-demand digitization

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE U’S COMMUNITY COPIES • Some are orphan works • Many are popular research materials • Most have added research value that sets them apart from the original • All present access, use, and preservation challenges

FOUR OVERLAPPING CATEGORIES

Home Movie Video Dubs

A 0668 DAVE TATSUNO “Topaz” (1943 -1945) preserved on National Film Registry in 1996 Original 8 mm held by Japanese American National Museum VHS copy includes added commentary, footage from Tatsuno’s return to Topaz in 1955, related news and documentaries, 1992 SF Japantown reunion

Home Movie Video Dubs Copies Circulated by Subject Enthusiasts

A 0532 BRANDY BLANK Glen Canyon river trip (ca. 1946 -1949) – silent, then with music added Westwater Canyon river trip (ca. 1970 s) with music added Location of originals unknown VHS dub circulated widely in river running community, often accompanied by historical talks

Home Movie Video Dubs News & Media Compilations Copies Circulated by Subject Enthusiasts

Corporations & Organizations Public Figures A 0010 AIR MED A 0694 SALT LAKE ORGANIZING COMMITTEE (SLOC) A 0736 DEEDEE CORRADINI

Home Movie Video Dubs News & Media Compilations Copies Circulated by Subject Enthusiasts Educational Compilations

A 0159 DAVID C. EVANS VHS compilations of early computer graphics created by students and Evans & Sutherland Contextualizes seminal animations, including “A Computer Animated Hand” (Catmull and Parke 1972) Originals were 16 mm films taken of computer screen: Where are they now?

PROS AND CONS

BENEFITS • Easy to access content using consumer equipment • Related content easy to locate and already compiled for researchers • Context and research value added through editing, compilation, commentary, etc. • Materials already circulating in community have proven popular research value

DRAWBACKS • Not the original item – Potentially inferior image and sound quality – Danger of duplicating other archive’s work – Depending on format, copies may be in greater danger of deterioration than original • Copyright complications hinder use and access

COPYRIGHT QUAGMIRE

ACCESS AND PERSONAL DUPLICATION AT U OF U • Special Collections Reading Room open to the public • Archival materials available for on site research use regardless of copyright • Personal research reproductions of copyrighted material allowed, with few exceptions • Online streaming and use requests present additional complications

RISK ASSESSMENT OF A 0159 DAVID C. EVANS • 8 physical items contained 37 individual copyright eligible works • Item by item assessment conducted by Diversity Resident Librarian who worked halftime on the project for over 2 months • Definitive copyright status determined for just over half of works, most of which remain in copyright • Only 12 works assessed at low-medium risk

CONCLUSION

PLAN FOR THE FUTURE OF COMMUNITY COPIES • University of Utah is just beginning the first steps of a major collection assessment to help determine digital preservation priorities – Resource allocation for preservation and access – Determine what level of access can be provided – Determine which preservation actions are best suited for which media and collection types and situations • Community copies are abundant in our archive and important to our patrons and must be included when making these long term plans

THE END MOLLY ROSE STEED ASST. HEAD, MOVING IMAGE & SOUND ARCHIVIST J. WILLARD MARRIOTT LIBRARY, UNIVERSITY OF UTAH MOLLY. STEED@UTAH. EDU