On a recent trip to Maine, I took a short detour to Bucksport to drop off some 35mm films that the Nashua Public Library has been storing for some time. These films cover significant events in Nashua and throughout New Hampshire from the 1930s through the 1950s. We no longer show 35mm films, but we were concerned about preserving these films and making their content available on another format, but more about them in a later entry.

My destination was Northeast Historic Film. Excluding the state of Rhode Island, NHF is New England’s repository for motion picture films. Housed behind the Alamo Theatre in Bucksport which regularly shows old films, of course, you’ll find a state-of-the-art preservation and duplication laboratory, a video lending library for NHF members, and a small store selling DVDs and videos of one-of-a kind films about New England life long-ago. Perhaps most impressive of all is a windowless, 3-story, futuristic structure connected to the back of NHF’s offices called “The Cube.” This 13,000 cubic foot media storage vault keeps old films (and some videotapes) at a constant 45 degrees F and 25% relative humidity. These conditions slow the chemical processes by which film and tape degrades, safely storing them for duplication for up to 99 years. A separate floor with temperatures maintained below freezing is designated for films that already show signs of distress.

Here are some interesting facts about visual media and archival quality:

• Film (“safety” film, that is, developed in the 1920s) has strong archival qualities. Prior to safety film, film stock was cellulose nitrate-based which is extremely combustible. NHF will not accept nitrate films for preservation or storage.

• Videotape has a much shorter lifetime. VHS in particular can begin to experience “drop outs” within 10-20 years. Beta is a more stable format but rarely seen these days.

• Burned DVDs, if well cared for, should last 100 years or more depending on the format. Early reports of “DVD rot” have not come to pass, but DVDs require care in handling and storage in order to retain their longevity. See Fred R. Byers’ Care and handling of CDs and DVDs: A guide for librarians and archivists for more on DVD and CD life expectancy.

NHF is a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving films documenting New England’s past. In addition to accepting film archives from major institutions, they will also inspect, clean, and transfer home movies for a fee to the video format of your choice. Their first advice to home movie owners is to not project your films. Film gets brittle with age and running them through a projector could cause further damage. Contact their Technical Services department for help or more information.

NHF also participates in Home Movie Day an annual worldwide celebration of amateur film, occurring this year on Saturday, October 18, 2008, when participants can bring their home movies to be inspected and shown.

Want to learn more about film preservation? Visit Film Forever: The Home Film Preservation Guide sponsored by the Association of Moving Image Archivists.

Of course local film and video transfer services abound. Check your Yellow Pages for “Video – Duplication Service” or “Video Production” or just Google keywords “video (or VHS or film),” “transfer (or duplication)” and "Nashua”. There are also many options for do-it-yourselfers, where a trip to Circuit City or RadioShack might be a first step. Just remember that your 8mm films and VHS tapes aren't improving with age like fine wine, so there's no time like the present to transfer them to a newer format.