Photo courtesy of the Cinémathèque royale de Belgique.
International Directory of Film-Related Collections and Libraries
(aka Special Collections Directory)
International Film archives and libraries not only collect and preserve film materials, but also film-related documentation and special collections of papers, screenplays, photos, posters, sound recordings, memorabilia, and other materials. Such collections are typically acquired via donation or purchase from professionals including film directors, actors, film producers and distributors, film historians, film reviewers and journalists.
To help researchers access these materials, FIAF first produced a FIAF Directory of Film and TV Documentation Sources (1976), an International Directory of Film and TV Documentation Sources (1980), an International Directory of Film and TV Documentation Centres (1988), and an International Directory of Film and TV Documentation Collections (1994), and then updated the Directory in electronic form until 2008.
In 2018 the FIAF Cataloguing and Documentation Commission decided to update and enrich the information present in the Directory by creating a simple tool, allowing students, researchers and archivists to identify where special collections are preserved and how to access them. The new Directory will be important not only for researchers but also for film heritage institutions. Knowing where such collections are housed will enable archives to create new partnerships and projects.
The tool is now ready, and the task force in charge of this project has started to implement it, recuperating the information present in the old directory and also analysing the web sites of FIAF institutions to identify which ones are collecting and preserving special collections. The Directory currently lists 127 institutions.
We took this first step to facilitate the work of colleagues who will complete their institution’s directory entry but now the time has come for FIAF affiliates to contribute! You can start editing your institution's entry by clicking on the button at the bottom of this webpage.
Our goal is to officially publish the Directory as soon as all FIAF colleagues have updated their entries.
Task force members: Anna Fiaccarini, Nancy Goldman, Eva Hielscher, Rutger Penne, Circe Sánchez, Mats Skärstrand, Martine Vignot.
For additional info please contact: dircoll@fiafnet.org.
