Senator MUNDT. Why would the Intelligence Service be interested in that? CAPTURED GERMAN FILMS Mr. CLAPP. The intelligence services or let us say, other Government agencies generally, are more interested in certain captured German films which we have received during this period of which we speak, at which time we had a Motion Picture Division, so that our collections consist, sir, of several parts. They consist of paper prints deposited for copyright down to 1912, prints of motion pictures not on film at all, but on paper. These are historically very valuable because they are the earliest motion pictures. At the time it was not possible under the copyright law to deposit them as motion pictures so they were deposited as photographs on paper. All the other copies have disappeared in most cases. We have the sole remaining depository of these early American motion pictures. MARY PICKFORD'S COLLECTION Then we have several large collections, mostly acquired by gift, including Mary Pickford's collection, for the interim between 1912 and 1940 when we started to gather the copyright collections again. Then during the period 1947 to 1949 when we had the Motion Picture Division we acquired several large collections of captured German motion pictures, including propaganda film and certain other gifts, and 1 or 2 small purchases. That is the constitution of the collection. Let me give you an example of some of the captured material. ACADEMY AWARD PICTURES Senator MUNDT. You need not bother about that. Everybody would realize that that would perform a worthwhile service. Let us forget about that. Let us talk now about your commercial pictures, your Academy Award pictures, or what other criteria you use for selecting them. What, if any, use has ever been made of any of the films that you have stored that have been selected from the commercial film industry? Mr. CLAPP. None, sir. Mr. FISHER. May I make two additional answers to that? INDUSTRIAL AND SOCIAL FILMS So far as the current intake is concerned, we are finding that today there is quite a shift from the original emphasis on theatricals. Industrial, social, and other documentary films are used more and more by schools, libraries, and social groups, so that numerically the number of such registrations is now becoming considerably greater than the theatricals. Second, so far as our earlier registrations are concerned, we have found that this material is all being reworked and is of great interest so far as titles are concerned, for example, in connection with television. The pictures that were considered at one time chiefly valuable for theatrical showing now have another value. We have produced recently in the Copyright Office three large catalogs just of copyright registrations, giving the full history of the motion picture development in this country so as to be available to people who are interested in that development and the titles that are available, some of which are going into the public domain now. CATALOG OF MOTION PICTURES Mr. CLAPP. Here is a catalog of motion pictures deposited and registered for copyright. Mr. FISHER. And, as indicated by the purchases of catalogs, interest is quite substantial in these works. Mr. CLAPP. The very size of it and the fact that the publication was requested indicates the interest in these motion-picture properties. As Mr. Fisher says it is the documentary rather than the theatricals which we expect to be of greatest interest in the future. COST OF MOTION-PICTURE ACTIVITIES Senator MUNDT. Can you provide for the record at this point a breakdown showing the total cost to the Government of all of the motion-picture activities engaged in by the Library of Congress, broken down into such categories as that part which one can readily see there should be no argument about, and that is your captured propaganda films for the services, and so forth, and this other activity which has created some discussion and some criticism? Mr. CLAPP. I can give you an approximate idea right offhand. It costs the Government about $4,000 a year but the Government also acquires materials worth a great many times more than that every year for the copyright deposit. Senator MUNDT. How do you arrive at the $4,000? Mr. CLAPP. The salary cost of the single person assigned to the custody of the collection. Senator MUNDT. Does that include your man who goes out and looks at all those tin cans? Mr. CLAPP. That is the man. Senator MUNDT. Does that include the transportation that is involved in taking them out to Maryland? Mr. CLAPP. It would be of that order, sir. Senator MUNDT. Does that include the cost of publication of these books? Mr. CLAPP. No; that is part of the Copyright Office activity. Mr. FISHER. Could I point out that so far as the Copyright Office records are concerned, that is required by the present statute. Since our operation is a business operation in which the present Copyright Act, Title 17 U. S. C., requires us to catalog and control these works, the fees and the value of the works certainly exceed the cost of any activity in which we are engaged in this connection. Mr. CLAPP. I do not quite understand the criticism here. Mr. CLAPP. Yes. We are not engaged in any activities connected with motion pictures except what, you might say, is a holding activity, merely to be assured that this record which is deposited under the laws of the United States is not lost. Senator MUNDT. You are talking about the books? Mr. CLAPP. No; I am speaking about the motion picture films themselves. The publication of the books is required by law of the Copyright Office. Senator MUNDT. I understand that. I was dealing with the warehousing and storing of pictures, which, it is alleged, you never refer to and never use. I am wondering what possible public service that might render to justify the cost. Mr. CLAPP. In the future it may have an inestimable public service. Senator MUNDT. However, nothing has occurred up to the present to indicate it has been used. Mr. CLAPP. There has been no public service, sir. There has been a minor amount of service to the Government. Mr. FISHER. Is it not correct, that for example, those paper prints, which number some 3,500 as I understand it, all those paper prints, are now being reworked and are being used for exhibition as they are now works in the public domain. As I understand, that early collection of the first 15 years of the motion picture industry is now being used to some degree on television and other showings at the present time. (The information referred to follows:) MOTION PICTURE ACTIVITIES OF THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 1. Copyright Motion pictures are included among the works for which copyright may be claimed, and are specifically enumerated in the Copyright Act as comprising two classes of such works "motion-picture photoplays" and "motion pictures other than photoplays" (17 U. S. C. 5, 1 and m; 202.13, 202.14). During fiscal year 1954 (to May 31, 1954) 3,376 titles have been registered in these 2 classes, with fees accruing to the Treasury in the amount of $13,504. The Copyright Office is required to index_copyright_registrations and to print periodic catalogs thereof (17 U. S. C. 210). Pursuant thereto the Office published during fiscal year 1954 the following: Catalog of Copyright Entries, Third Series, Motion Pictures and Filmstrips, January-December 1953. The printing cost of this publication was $720.05. It sells for $1 per copy, and receipts from sales are returned to the Treasury by the Superintendent of Documents. 2. Catalog cards The Card Division prints catalog cards for motion-picture films (including especially educational films and documentaries) and sells these cards to educational institutions and others which compile catalogs of such films. The cataloging on which these cards are based is performed in part by the Copyright Office (for copyrighted films) but mainly by the producers of the films. During fiscal year 1954 the Division has issued cards for 4,760 motion-picture titles at a printing cost of $15,291. During the same period it has already sold 721,367 cards with receipts amounting to $11,849.50, which are included in the receipts of the Card Division turned into the Treasury. The Library also publishes a catalog in book form in cumulative quarterly issues based on these catalog cards, and during fiscal year 1954 has issued the following: Library of Congress Catalog. Films, 1953. Washington, 1954. The printing costs for this work were $2,952. It goes to 940 subscribers, either as a separate catalog at $7.50 per annum, or as part of the entire Library of Congress Catalog-Authors, at $100 per annum. 3. The collection of motion pictures (a) Present collection.-The Library of Congress has custody of approximately 24,500 reels of motion pictures. The principal components of this collection are as follows: i. Paper prints of motion pictures deposited for copyright in lieu of film, 1894-1912. ii. Films selected from copyright deposits, 1940–54. iii. Films received as gifts, 1940-54 iv. Films of German, Japanese, French, and Italian motion pictures deposited by the Office of Alien Property, 1943.. v. Films of German and Japanese motion pictures transferred from the Department of Defense and other Government agencies.. vi. Films acquired by purchase (George Kleine collection of early American motion pictures, purchased 1946) 1 Approximate. (b) Current acquisitions. The only motion pictures currently added to the collections are a selection of the most important theatrical, news, and documentary films deposited for copyright (336 titles in 1954) and occasional gifts (15 titles in 1954). (c) Program. The present program of the Library of Congress with respect to motion pictures is almost exclusively a custodial function. The paper prints (2,500 reels) and acetate prints (10,700 reels) are stored in the Library buildings. The older prints on nitrate (11,300 reels) are stored in Government vaults at Suitland, Md. (d) Conversion of paper prints to acetate.-There is considerable interest in the early motion pictures represented by the paper prints. The copyright in many of these has now lapsed. In order to make any use of them, however, it is necessary to rephotograph them on acetate film. The Library has taken advantage of this situation in order to secure acetate prints of these earliest American motion pictures by permitting the use of the paper prints in a number of instances in return for an acetate print, in cooperation with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which is also cataloging these paper prints at no cost to the Govern ment. (e) Deterioration and inspection of nitrate film.-Nitrate film is highly flammable and even explosive and must be kept in special well-ventilated and cooled vaults. Risks of loss increase with deterioration of the film. For this reason it is necessary to make regular inspections for deteriorated film in order to keep hazard to a minimum. The Library's nitrate collection is inspected reel by reel at least once a year. (ƒ) Úse.—The Library has no program for the public exhibition or showing of motion pictures, and so far as copyrighted pictures are concerned would have no legal authority thus to use them without permission of the owners of the performance rights. A different situation is presented by works fallen into the public domain, which can be copied or otherwise used by anyone. At all times, including the term of protection in the case of copyrighted pictures, their titles, subject matter, authors, names of producing companies and other data, with the privilege of public inspection, are of increasing official and general interest. (g) Consolidation and reduction of collection.- As a result of the size of the deposit of film from the Office of Alien Property (par. 3 iv above) and of transfers from other Government agencies (par. 3 (a) v above) it has been necessary since 1943 to store portions of the collection in rented vaults. A determined effort has been made during fiscal year 1954 to consolidate and reduce the entire collection. This has now been done, and it is not now necessary to rent any vaults for the storage of this material. Approximately 14,000 1,000-foot reels (actually 40,187 pounds) of film have been disposed of by sale for silver recovery with receipts of $916.09 (which has been deposited in miscellaneous receipts in the Treasury) and the remainder of this deposited and transferred material has now been consolidated at Suitland. All rented vaults have been released. (h) Cost of maintenance.- The continuing cost of maintenance of the collection consists almost exclusively of the salaries of the custo 'ian and his assistant. No distinction is made or can readily be made in custy as between motion pictures received as copyright deposits or otherwise. During fiscal year 1954 there was added to the salary costs of custody the expense of vault rental, and of travel and transportation connected with inspection of material in vaults in the New York area and with consoli 'ation and reduction of the collection as described in paragraph 3 (g) above. As a result of the consolidation, these expenses of rental, transportation, and travel will not be necessary in future years under the present program, as shown in the following table. 07 Contractual services: For shelf listing and arranging the collection and segregating duplicates for disposal.. 08 Supplies (packing cases and containers). Total obligations..... Receipts from sale of scrap film (covered into Treasury). PRIVATE STUDY ROOMS Senator MUNDT. Turning now, Mr. Clapp, to another phase you have over in the Library of Congress some private offices or rooms which are available to citizens who use them for one purpose or another; is that correct? Mr. CLAPP. To describe them as offices, sir, is not correct. They are study rooms. They are intended to be used exclusively for purposes of study in connection with our collections. Senator MUNDT. Would you provide for our committee and for the record a list of all of the people who have such private study rooms in the Library of Congress? Mr. CLAPP. Yes, sir. I have a copy with me. Senator MUNDT. We would like to have the following information: We would like to have the names of the people who have them, who requested that these people have the right to use them, that is, did they request it themselves, or was it made by some organization, by a Member of the Congress, or made by a member of the executive department, just who made the request, how these rooms are procured, that is, are they available to all the 150 million Americans or 160 million who might use them, do you have certain criteria that certain people can get these study rooms and certain people cannot, and, fourth, what services are provided to the people who have these rooms, by the Library of Congress. We have quite a few letters, communications, and phone calls in this whole general area of activity, so we would like to get at least those four things pinned down specifically and then any additional information which you could provide which would explain to the Congress this particular service-how it operates, how it functions, how the rooms are parceled out, whether they get them for 60 days or 6 months, or whether this is free office space for somebody to have for several years. We would like all of the details as completely as possible. |