The Media History Digital Library

This semester I am fortunate to have the opportunity to hold a practicum with the Media History Digital Library (MHDL), a non-profit open source initiative that presents collections of media and entertainment periodicals in the public domain for full public access.

The materials found in the MHDL collections are donated or loaned for scanning by both institutions and individuals who wish to promote full access to their public domain holdings. Donor contributions help cover the costs of scanning, so that users and donors alike may have online digital access to these archival resources. Materials found in the MHDL may be downloaded, or read with the Internet Archive BookReader.

Some of the collection categories listed in the MHDL are: the Hollywood Studio System, Fan Magazines, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound, Non-Theatrical Film, Technical Journals, Government and Law, and Global Cinema. Sponsors for digitization have included: the Museum of Modern Art, the Library of Congress, the Internet Archive, Dormitor, and many individual donors.

Presenting archival materials in the public domain has the particular effect of raising questions about the ties between use, access, and institutional costs. In an interview from USC Professor Henry Jenkins’ blog, MHDL Co-Director Eric Hoyt elegantly states the Media History Digital Project’s mission to “build public parks, rather than walled gardens.” (Jenkins).

Costs to users for access to archival resources are not confined only to licensing, copying and printing, they can also include travel, lodging, and other expenses accrued when going to an institution for archival research. A common question that arises in this scenario (and one which came to my mind upon learning about the project) is: “what about us? What becomes of the archivists and the institutions?” This is not by any means an irrelevant question. I think about this issue each time I look through job descriptions searching for “digitization skills” and “online digital management.” Yet the more I learned about the MHDL and its mission for open access, the more convinced I became that this was a sincere and valuable initiative. 

In my interactions with archivists from other institutions I have heard only laudatory remarks about how the MHDL has promoted the use of archives by opening up these public domain materials in a professional and collaborative manner.

This open and collaborative approach to presenting archival materials for the purposes of use and access is something that is taking place more and more in the archives field. In working together to make materials openly available for researchers we form strong bonds not only with our users, but also with our colleagues in the profession. This in turn builds a stronger nature of cooperation and opportunity that is unique in many of today’s professions that stress only tangible returns. With the recent unveiling of Lantern, their new custom search platform, the online use and enthusiasm for this resource has only grown.

I am happy not only to be part of this project, but also to have the opportunity to explore these issues firsthand as I finish my archives program and prepare to enter the profession.

For more information on the Media History Digital Project, or to search the online collections, visit: http://mediahistoryproject.org.

Citation:

Jenkins, Henry.  “The Affordances of Digital Technology for Media History Research (Part One).” 5 December 2012. 12 October 2013 <>. http://henryjenkins.org/2012/12/the-affordances-of-digital-technology-for-media-history-research-part-one.html

-Laurel Gildersleeve