The National Library of Medicine has a mandate to preserve its collections. Among NLM's holdings are an estimated 52,000 audiovisuals, including approximately 4,000 historical motion pictures. The collection is considered a national resource since many of the titles are not available at other U.S. biomedical libraries. Color motion picture film is particularly susceptible to fading at normal storage temperatures. These preservation masters need to be kept at stable temperatures considerably lower than those recommended for other library materials, including microfilm. The objectives of this project are: l)to acquire an off-site vault for the long-term (permanent) storage of preservation masters of color motion picture film and audiovisuals in which stringent and stable recommended levels of temperature and relative humidity can be achieved and maintained; 2) to ensure environmentally-controlled transport of shipments of preservation masters between the Library and the off-site storage site; and 3) to provide the Library with a mechanism for the prompt recall of master preservation film from permanent storage as needed and on-demand.
