ABSTRACT
Film and broadcast archives serve as repositories for moving image and sound resources. Whether found in commercial or noncommercial settings, these archives aim to collect, describe, preserve, and make accessible audiovisual materials for users. Archives face many challenges in maintaining film, video, and audio materials, including physical deterioration, format obsolescence, and storage requirements. Audio-visual collections also require significant investment in appraisal, metadata generation for description, and access technologies. The abandonment of the motion picture film as a format for distribution and exhibition and the narrowing window of opportunity to transfer analog magnetic media will continue to drive the archival agenda. Copyright legislation, such as the Copyright Term Extension Act and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, also complicate the mission of audiovisual archives to preserve and provide access to their materials.
