External Site: New York Public Library, Moving Image and Recorded Sound Division[info]
The Moving Image and Recorded Sound (MIRS) Division documents the experiences of peoples of African descent, as they have been captured via audiovisual technology. The collections encompass a variety of formats including motion picture film (released prints and outtakes), video recordings, and music, and spoken arts recordings in several formats. Included in the broad range of audiovisual materials are documentary and dramatic films, principally focusing upon international political, anthropological, religious, and cultural arts themes. A unique collection of public affairs television programmes documents the local concerns of African Americans in communities across the United States. Public service announcements and commercial advertisements are also strongly represented.
Since 1980 the MIRS has conducted oral history interviews through its Oral History/Video Documentation Programme. These primary source video testimonies are part of one of the nation’s longest-running video oral history programme.
The collections are held at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. Researchers from abroad may access the collection on site having obtained a temporary library card. Increasingly, the Center’s audio-visual holdings are being cataloged in The New York Public Library’s online public access catalogue.