Collaboration is Key to Footage Archiving & Film Preservation at Sherman Grinberg Film Library

Collaboration is one of the most important tools in film archiving and the team at the Sherman Grinberg Library regularly partners with museums, libraries, archives and schools to share watermarked footage for no cost so students, teachers and researchers can use the historic footage for class projects, research and exhibits. Educators can select from over 47,000 historic newsreel clips sourced from the Paramount and American Pathé Newsreel Collections, which, thanks to the hard work of the team at the Sherman Grinberg Film Library, are now available on the Grinberg website to watch, download and license for use in productions or projects.

It is through collaboration that these films find their way into the communities - to the "Eyes and Ears of the World" - where they will have the most impact. In addition, by sharing the footage, the Sherman Grinberg Film Library exposes particular areas of its archive of historic footage, and by extension its broader newsreel collection, to a wider audience of production professionals. This leads to business opportunities when professional researchers, writers, production companies, and exhibit companies, who want to use the footage in ways that require a license, become aware of the collection and the company.

“I have been a Media Archivist for almost 30 years but I am not a historian,” says Lance Watsky, Manager of Media Archives and Licensing. “So, I truly appreciate sharing the historic footage with people and communities who understand its importance.”

The Grinberg Team recently shared over 200 historic clips documenting the history of thoroughbred racing in America with the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame located in Saratoga Springs, New York.

Stephanie Luce, Collections Manager at the museum recently shared the footage during a staff meeting and they were all very excited about watching the footage and look forward to adding the racing history moments to their archives and sharing the footage with the public.

Grinberg also recently did their first international collaboration with the Israel Film Archive in Jerusalem. The footage is available to watch on the Archive’s new website and the information about the footage is available in both Hebrew and English.

It is collaborating with museums, archives, and schools that allow companies like Sherman Grinberg Film Library to share history and make connections with communities all over the world.