In an effort to update the media, the MSU Archives and Historical Collections is launching a campaign to go towards the MSU Film and Video Preservation Fund.
The campaign, which will begin April 1, has the goal of raising funds to keep these glimpses of history from going to waste.
Many film reels that need preservation could be of interest to the public, such as the large portion of athletic films, dating to the years between the 1930s and 70s, that the archives are home to.
Other reels vulnerable to loss due to age, include footage of the 1936 commencement, an alumni reunion from the 1940s and a film of the summer orientation in 1966.
The video and film files are becoming increasingly difficult to view, Electronic Records Archivist Ed Busch said.
“MSU has such a rich history and there’s so much video we have that people would love to see if they knew we had it and it was accessible,” Busch said.
Understanding and learning about history puts today in perspective, Busch said.
Assistant Director Portia Vescio said the collection of films decaying at various rates in the archives, ranging from athletic events to visits from public figures, are important and should be preserved.
“All of those things are a part of history and we want to make it so people can continue to enjoy them,” Vescio said.
The MSU Archives and Collections will digitize files as they gain donations.
However, Busch said the amount of files they can update will depend on the funds they raise.
The total cost of preserving all of the at-risk footage is hard to estimate, Busch said.
Assistant professor and director of film studies Joshua Yumibe said every time someone watches a film or video, the material degrades.
He said because no one has found good parameters to preserve the materials with longevity, archives are faced with a bit of a conundrum.
Vescio said during the period of deterioration, the reels start to omit an unpleasant odor. In addition, the film itself begins to crumble and flake apart, a process that is dubbed as “vinegar syndrome.”
The issue of losing the historical film reels began to arise when there was a recent surge of interest in the archives.
Citizens and students ran into problems trying to view the films because of their condition and because of the outdated technology.
Yumibe said he would like to see material that depicts what student life was like before the 1960s.
“It’s really important to preserve our moving images,” Yumibe said. “They provide a wonderful insight for the generations after us.”
