Alaska Film Archives awarded grant

Submitted by Dirk Tordoff
Phone: (907) 474-5357
06/28/04

The Alaska Film Archives, part of Rasmuson Library at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, has received a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission to preserve and provide access to videotapes of the first public hearings leading to passage of the Alaska National Interest Land Conservation Act. These hearings took place at dozens of locations throughout Alaska in 1973. According to film archivist Dirk Tordoff, äóìTestimony on these tapes will reveal the wishes and concerns of Native elders and other Alaskans, many of whom are now deceased, about the future of Alaskaäó»s vast undeveloped lands.

The project will preserve the content of the tapes and make it widely accessible by producing new video masters and then VHS and DVD copies. The new masters are necessary because the hearings were recorded on an early open-reel video format that is no longer in use and the original medium is deteriorating. The VHS and DVD copies will make it easy to study the hearings in a home or classroom setting. Both the original recordings and the new masters will be stored in the Film Archivesäó» climate-controlled vault. Selected footage will be available in professional formats for use in documentaries.

Project staff will also produce summaries of the hearings and identifications of the participants. This information will be entered in Goldmine, UAFäó»s Internet-accessible library catalog, and packaged with the individual VHS and DVD copies. The copies will be available in UAFäó»s Rasmuson Library, in other libraries across the state and through interlibrary loan.

The NHPRC grant will cover the cost of producing new video masters at a specialized laboratory. Matching funds for staff and other expenses will be provided by UAF and by a five-year grant to the Film Archives from the Rasmuson Foundation. This is the second time in seven years that NHPRC has made an award to the Film Archives through national competition. The earlier project was to preserve the travelogue films made by Fred Machetanz and his wife Sara before he became famous as a painter.

The Alaska Film Archives was founded at the University of Alaska more than thirty years ago in recognition that film is an important part of the historical record. Tordoff has been its key staff member since it was revived in 1993 to collect, preserve, and provide access to archival film and video on all Alaska topics.

Contact: Dirk Tordoff at (907) 474-5357 or fndit@uaf.edu.