Why is the Library of Congress investing in preserving digital public television programs?
The Library has been charged by Congress in the the American Television and Radio Archive legislation to create and maintain archives of radio and television broadcasts (see http://www.copyright.gov/fedreg/2004/69fr62411.html). The Library’s television archive has accumulated through a combination of legacy acquisitions, and the collection of depository copies made for purposes of copyright registration. The LC currently has over 1.1 million moving image items in its collection, and over 314,000 television titles. The Library has a legal agreement with the Public Broadcasting Service that stipulates that PBS shall act as an agent for all public television producers by allowing the LOC to have a copy of any program it wants, one year after the broadcast rights have expired. However, neither the LOC nor PBS has had enough funding to keep the program donations flowing as regularly as imagined when the agreement was signed in the early 90’s. Consequently, the costly transfer of analog tape
