Slow fires

Duration: 59

Year Published: 1987

Creator: The Foundation

Format: 16mm

Color: Color

Sound: sound

Description: Slow fires refer to such disasters as flood, fire, and the acidic agents in paper which are consuming the world's historical records. As materials crumble, librarians and archivists face a crisis which threatens to destroy documentation of the human chronicle. Daniel Boorstin, Chief Librarian at the Library of Congress, and Vartan Gregorian, President of the New York Public Library, discuss the ramifications of this widespread deterioration. Barbara Tuchman and James Michener detail the relevance of historical writings to their own work. Conservationists trace the problem to nineteenth century paper production methods and cite the need for accelerated microfilming projects and the increased use of alkaline or ph-balanced paper by publishers. From an international preservation conference in Vienna, the setting moves to research libraries in the United States, to the flood-ravaged National Library in Florence, Italy, and on to document conservation centers, paper mills and other sites where preservation has become a central activity. (33 min. version also available.)