Get Connected

I attended the New England Archivists spring meeting on the Wesleyan campus in late March. Our keynote speaker, Snowden Becker, discussed her efforts with Home Movie Day, which will be celebrating 10 years this coming October. What is Home Movie Day? Their website explains:

[]Home Movie Day is a celebration of amateur films and filmmaking held annually at many local venues worldwide.

Home Movie Day events provide the opportunity for individuals and families to see and share their own home movies with an audience of their community, and to see their neighbors' in turn. It's a chance to discover why to care about these films and to learn how best to care for them.

What has that to do with the Congregational Library you ask? Well, it may not be something that highlights colonial history, but it certainly is an issue for 20th century church records. It is often the case that a church will have captured Sunday services or special events. Inevitably there's a big question: what do you do with these films (or audio recordings)? I rarely have a good answer. Preserving AV material is a tricky thing. However, it's a necessary conversation to have from time to time.

• If you are a member of a church that has some of these mystery rolls of film, consider participating in this year's event.
• If your church doesn't have films, your congregants might! Consider hosting an event for your congregation and the surrounding community this fall. 
• If you have old projectors in your basement, garage, or attic that will never be used, consider donating them to the Home Movie Day folks.

To learn more about the event, hosting, or including a film, please visit the Home Movie Day site.

-Jessica