engleski

Protection and long-term preservation of library film collections

Many libraries have large film collections, whether they are public, university or national libraries. As soon as DVD technology was introduced, libraries started to purchase films on DVD discs and borrowing them to their users. However, regarding the long-term preservation and protection, DVD discs are considerably more susceptible to damage in relation to some other types of media such as printed documents. Through incorrect handling by librarians, and especially by users, DVD discs are rapidly deteriorating and their film inscriptions become permanently unreadable by DVD players. Then it is necessary that library purchase new DVD discs. But these films could not be available on the market anymore. Film protection and long- term preservation are especially important in case of most valuable national and international films that are a precious part of national and international cultural heritage. In this paper, we explored various aspects of protection and long-term preservation of films on DVD discs. By using the method of semi-structured interview we explored opinions, practice and experiences of librarians from 18 Croatian public libraries which have large film collections. Some of the topics which were explored are activities of protection of films on DVD discs ; problems of librarians who want to protect films on DVD discs ; possibilities and limits of film acquisition and substitution of damaged films ; relationship of film acquisition with the possibility of long-term preservation of films. Research results have enabled more comprehensive insight about protection and long-term preservation of films on DVD discs. Based on insights from the research, we created recommendations for librarians' activities that could help to protect films on DVD discs and support their long-term preservation. Additionally, we present various relevant theoretical considerations and experiences.

films, DVD discs, protection, long-term preservation, libraries, cultural heritage

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