Education and Consultation on Moving Image Collections at the Center for the History of Psychology

FAIN: PG-52018-13

University of Akron, Main Campus (Akron, OH 44325-0001)
Cathy Faye (Project Director: May 2012 to November 2014)

Hiring a preservation specialist to evaluate a moving image collection, housed in the Center for the History of Psychology that includes 9,000 titles in obsolete film formats (16mm, 8mm, and 35mm) created since the 1920s that document the history of American psychology. The collection includes raw research footage, home movies made by prominent human scientists, films made for disseminating research findings or laboratory activities, educational and industrial films, recordings of interviews with major figures in the human sciences, and footage of conference presentations. A substantial portion of the collection documents research on child development, notably studies by Arnold Lucius Gesell (1880-1961), a medical doctor, psychologist, and pioneer in the American child study movement. The consultant would also assist the staff in preparing long-term preservation plans and provide a one-day hands-on workshop incorporating major topics in audiovisual preservation. This practicum would be open to anyone interested in the topic from other institutions in the region.

The Center for the History of Psychology's Moving Image Collection is comprised of more than 9,000 moving image titles, including educational films, research footage, and interviews documenting the history of psychology and its intersections with everyday life. These titles, many of which are completely unique, provide a rare and intimate look at nearly a century's worth of research and investigation of the human condition in America. The central goal of this project is to facilitate preservation planning for this collection and to help other collecting institutions better understand the needs of their own collections. Funding from NEH will support the services of a consultant from the Image Permanence Institute who will provide an onsite workshop on preservation issues in film archives. The workshop will be free and open to the public. The consultant will also work with CHP staff to help them create short-term and long-term preservation plans for the Moving Image Collection.