The Film Preservation Guide

The Film Preservation Guide: The Basics for Archives, Libraries, and Museums describes methods for handling, duplicating, making available, and storing film that are practical for nonprofit and public organizations with limited resources. It traces the path of film through the preservation process and includes case studies, illustrations, charts, glossary, bibliography, vendor lists, and index. The Film Preservation Guide was honored by the Society of American Archivists with its 2005 Preservation Publication Award.

Free copies of this 138-page illustrated publication can be downloaded chapter by chapter or as a complete text. To order the printed book by mail, click here.

1 Contents, Introduction, and Why Preserve Film? (98 KB) View Press Release
2 Understanding Film and How It Decays (210 KB) View Press Release
3 Film Handling and Inspection (475 KB) View Press Release
4 The Curatorial Role (78 KB) View Press Release
5 Duplication (341 KB) View Press Release
6 Storage (166 KB) View Press Release
7 Cataloging (86 KB) View Press Release
8 Legal Context for Film Preservation (72 KB) View Press Release
9 Access (180 KB) View Press Release
10 Glossary, Edge Code Chart, Print Condition Report, Vendor Lists, Selective Bibliography, and Index (216 KB) View Press Release
All Full 138-page text (1527 KB) View Press Release
Extra Print Condition Report (38 KB) View Press Release