Library VHS in Danger: Media Preservation in Academic Libraries

Abstract

Preserving content is a foundational activity of libraries and an activity for which U.S. copyright law makes an exception. This paper studies preservation activities among academic libraries as reported through the literature and recorded in answer to a survey of Research 1 institutions in the United States. Trends, challenges, methods, and procedures are examined to create a robust picture of VHS preservation activity among academic libraries especially in reference to section 108 of U.S. copyright law.