tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6921567004864315541.post7394420263829919374..comments2024-02-27T10:20:42.208-05:00Comments on Signifying Sound and Fury: The complications that electronic media creates for librariesPeter Shirtshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12127694194498636105noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6921567004864315541.post-6485690809300256862014-07-15T21:16:19.329-04:002014-07-15T21:16:19.329-04:00I agree that diversifying your back up is a good i...I agree that diversifying your back up is a good idea. In traditional film archiving, multiple physical copies of films exist in different locations precisely because of the fire danger and because experience teaches that it is good to have a dupe no matter what, though you can only truly have one original negative of the raw footage. Diversifying to physical copies and digital copies is useful, though to purists something is always lost in digital duplication.<br />As for cloud storage itself, it may sound good now, but what if it, too, becomes obsolete? Does a library invest in each new technology form that comes along in hopes that it is the last one or the best one, or do they stick with the old/traditional, or do they diversity to minimize risk? And how much money is diversification worth?<br /><br />My experience teaching online also has merit here since if I want to show a film to my students but it just happens that I show it to them via the internet rather than sitting in a room and popping a DVD into a player, now I (or the university, in this case) have to pay more money than the cost of the DVD itself. And my and the library's right to show that film expires after a year even so. These new limits on access and time are unfortunate indeed even though I am pleased that films can be shown online so that universities can offer courses to an ever changing and diverse student body. Janahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10834004898251418702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6921567004864315541.post-84058104834294838722014-07-15T20:00:56.473-04:002014-07-15T20:00:56.473-04:00Thanks for your long comments! It's great to g...Thanks for your long comments! It's great to get a film perspective. I think cloud storage is okay in theory, but I'm skeptical of privacy and long-term preservation. Is it really less flammable? Couldn't the three back up be wiped free of data almost as easily as physical film? Maybe not, but time will tell. But why not have both.Peter Shirtshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12127694194498636105noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6921567004864315541.post-21203955429510020022014-07-15T19:56:40.271-04:002014-07-15T19:56:40.271-04:00Huh, I didn't realize you had to put a house a...Huh, I didn't realize you had to put a house address to comment. That's interesting that the digital world is starting to bleed into the tangible.Peter Shirtshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12127694194498636105noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6921567004864315541.post-40791203333862352472014-07-15T12:57:55.953-04:002014-07-15T12:57:55.953-04:00Two Comments:
1) I went to a conference the other...Two Comments:<br /><br />1) I went to a conference the other year where an archivist from the MPAA was speaking about the current crisis they are in trying to decide how is best to store films, both current and old. With the growing popularity of digital filming, cloud storage is a popular option right now, especially since old film negatives are so unstable. But because old technology forms become obsolete so quickly, the archivist is convinced that having a physical reel on actual film is still the best option since all you basically need to view the contents of the film is light and a projection screen. The point is a good one, though I concede that cloud storage is a much less flammable solution.<br /><br />2) I've been teaching an online section of introduction to film since 2010. When I first started, the technology center at my university's library only required that I own a physical copy of the film I wanted to show my class and bring it in to the tech center for them to convert it to a stream-able format and post it to my class website. This made it possible for the course to be available fully online. As long as I only made each film available for a three week time period, I was considered in line with copyright. <br /><br />This past year, however, a lot has changed and the library now pays considerable fees to "rent" films from independent streaming libraries, similar to Netflix though with a purely educational objective, in order to meet changing copyright requirements brought on by the rising popularity of digital media. And some films simply do not have streaming copyright clearance (For example, Blade Runner or Waiting for "Superman"). If I still want students to see these films, I must stipulate in the syllabus that students find these films on their own to view or purchase, similar to a required text. On the plus side, though, streamed films from these libraries carry a one year copyright so I no longer have a three week viewing limitation, and as a result I get consistently better papers from students who can access the film under question whenever they need to. Janahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10834004898251418702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6921567004864315541.post-39852478311179923822014-07-14T23:38:26.568-04:002014-07-14T23:38:26.568-04:00As an example, consider the fact that in order to ...As an example, consider the fact that in order to post comments on this blog, I need to identify the address of a house so as to better index locations in cities.wtaysomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02519978232336400566noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6921567004864315541.post-40407257902643060122014-07-14T23:32:33.343-04:002014-07-14T23:32:33.343-04:00Short term? Licensing legalities are likely to be...Short term? Licensing legalities are likely to become more complicated. The balance of permissions and restrictions will continue to be weighed with the those favoring control choosing obscurity over preservation.<br /><br />Long term? The physical world is going to become obsolete. Qualities we associate with digital media (fluidity, non-rivalry, indexability) will become more and more characteristic of tangibles.wtaysomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02519978232336400566noreply@blogger.com