Library of Congress National Film Preservation Act

Library of Congress National Film Preservation Act
Title	Library of Congress National Film Preservation Act
Enacted by	United States Congress
Enacted	1988
Introduced by	Ted Stevens
Amended	1992, 1996, 2005, 2008, 2016

Contents

Library of Congress National Film Preservation Act The Library of Congress National Film Preservation Act established statutory programs for identifying, preserving, and making accessible motion pictures deemed culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant. The Act created the National Film Registry, the National Film Preservation Board, and authorized a companion National Film Preservation Foundation to support preservation projects across the United States. It has influenced preservation policy at institutions such as the Library of Congress, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Museum of Modern Art, and the National Archives and Records Administration.

Background and Purpose

The Act responded to increasing recognition of film loss exemplified by the nitrate decompositions documented by the Library of Congress, preservation advocacy from the Film Foundation, and scholarly warnings from figures like Martin Scorsese, Kevin Brownlow, and George Eastman. Legislative momentum followed high-profile campaigns by the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and stakeholders including the American Film Institute and the Directors Guild of America. The statute sought to coordinate preservation across repositories such as the British Film Institute, Cineteca di Bologna, and the Academy Film Archive, and to formalize criteria used by curators at institutions like the Museum of the Moving Image and the International Federation of Film Archives.

Initial bills were informed by reports from the Library of Congress and testimonies before committees chaired by members such as Ted Stevens and representatives from the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology. The 1988 enactment followed advocacy from cultural leaders including Steven Spielberg, Francis Ford Coppola, and preservationists at the George Eastman Museum. Subsequent amendments in 1992, 1996, 2005, 2008, and 2016 refined appointment processes tied to offices like the President of the United States and agencies including the National Endowment for the Arts and the Smithsonian Institution. Legal frameworks intersected with other statutes involving the Copyright Act of 1976 and policy debates involving the Library Services and Technology Act.

The Act created the National Film Registry to list films that are “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.” Annual selections have included works by creators such as D.W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Alfred Hitchcock, Orson Welles, Penny Marshall, Spike Lee, Kathryn Bigelow, and studios like Warner Bros., Paramount Pictures, and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Selections span documentaries by Frederick Wiseman, newsreels from Movietone News, animations by Walt Disney and Max Fleischer, and silent-era prints preserved with assistance from the Library of Congress Packard Campus and archives such as the National Film and Sound Archive. Inclusion on the Registry has highlighted restoration projects involving the Academy Film Archive, the Cineteca Nazionale, and private collectors like Raymond Rohauer.

The Act established the National Film Preservation Board to advise the Librarian of Congress on Registry selections and preservation policy, with members drawn from institutions including the American Film Institute, the Screen Actors Guild, the Writers Guild of America, and academic centers like UCLA Film & Television Archive and Columbia University. The companion National Film Preservation Foundation operates as a nonprofit grantmaker supporting preservation at regional archives such as Chicago Film Archives, Pacific Film Archive, and Denver Film Society. Board appointments have involved cultural offices such as the National Endowment for the Humanities and professional organizations including the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers.

Administration rests with the Library of Congress and the office of the Librarian of Congress, while grantmaking and private fundraising engage partners like the Film Foundation and the Walt Disney Company. Federal funding allocations have been debated in hearings before the United States Senate Committee on Rules and Administration and appropriations subcommittees; supplemental support has come from foundations such as the Ford Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Preservation activities coordinate technical standards promulgated by the International Organization for Standardization and the Image Permanence Institute, and physical work conducted at sites like the Packard Campus for Audio Visual Conservation.

The Act raised public and institutional awareness of film preservation, catalyzing restorations of titles by directors such as John Ford, Orson Welles, and Satyajit Ray and promoting educational programs at universities like New York University and University of Southern California. Critics have argued that Registry selection processes privilege canonical works from studios like Columbia Pictures and RKO Pictures over marginalized voices represented by independent filmmakers associated with Third Cinema and community archives such as Black Film Center/Archive and The Feminist Press. Policy debates continue regarding copyright limitations influenced by the Copyright Term Extension Act, resource allocation among the National Archives and Records Administration, and balancing restoration priorities between mainstream feature films, ephemeral media like newsreels, and experimental works by artists connected to Fluxus and Expanded Cinema.