Boasting over 800,000 digitized pages, the Media History Digital Library web site, http://mediahistoryproject.org, is a non-profit organization committed to providing access to public domain media periodicals associated with cinema, broadcasting, and sound. Financially supported through donations, the extensive website offers users the opportunity to read scanned copies of an original periodical online or download a PDF version. The Library also provides a direct link to the Internet Archive database for the title providing cataloguing information and additional download options. A monthly archive indicates that the website is updated regularly and a staff supported blog features highlights from the collection. Media historians and casual information seekers will find a wealth of information from these original periodicals that date back to as far as the early 1900s.
The Media History Digital Library is designed with the user in mind. Each periodical title can be expanded to reveal the issues available for access. For convenience, the library has created a Collections Gateway featuring categories with corresponding years, such as Non-Theatrical Film Collection and Early Cinema Collection. Each category has a well-written description of the types of included materials. Within these categories are the associated periodical titles. Free to read and download, the periodicals are quick to load when accessing both the online and PDF versions. Full colour is provided when available. Although the site is easy to navigate, should the user require assistance, the extensive FAQ is very useful.
Navigation is simple and logical. Small triangles expand a title and links are provided by clicking on the issue. Reading and download options are immediately offered. A search bar is always located at the top. In the reviewer's assessment every link was active and accurate. Top level menu options such as the FAQ and Blog are well-defined. As this website is easy to use, no special training is required.
As aforementioned there is a search bar that looks similar to a top level menu. However, this search option is very limited. In the weeks before this review was undertaken the Library introduced Lantern, their new search platform. Lantern is robust search software allowing the user to search the over 800,000 page-level indexed documents archived in the Library. Users can search preset filters such as date, title, or collection. More complex searches are possible by employing the use of the advanced search options. There is even an option to disengage full text searching and only search metadata. Users can keep track of past searches as well. Visual searching is available via the magazine gallery. Within the gallery, users can filter results. For example, a search can be filtered as JSTOR Film Citations or Fan Magazines. Using the visual search option, users can also sort results by year or citation count, to name a few.
The FAQ serves as help files and covers topics from how to download and search to how materials are organized. Of particular note is the fact that the question concerning file size is not answered. This could be an issue for a user trying to calculate space. The library's e-mail is readily available should a user need additional information. The Media History Digital Library is a no fee, license-free, non-profit web site. No registration or special permission is required to use the information.
As the former head of preservation and curator of the National Film and Television Archive at the British Film Institute, the Media History Digital Library's founder and director David Pierce has extensive experience in media preservation and copyright. Co-director Eric Hoyt is a professor of Media and Cultural Studies at the University of Wisconsin. The Internet Archive, another non-profit organization committed to providing access to digitized historical collections, performs the periodical scanning and hosting (http://archive.org/about). The documents are provided by those who own them. Both sites offer unbiased access to digitized materials for the public.
The Media History Digital Library is a unique website offering a specific research need – historical periodicals. It is natural that the Library is affiliated with the Internet Archive. However, the vast amount of information in the Archive could be problematic when searching for specific information such as that provided by the Media History Digital Library. Researchers can find extensive, specific information on film history and related subjects in another museum or archive. For example, the Museum of the Moving Image provides research topics on film history. Divided into categories such as criticism and theory and people, a multitude of external links are provided for each topic (www.movingimagesource.us/research). In fact, the museum provides a link to the Media History Digital Library on the front research page.
While there may be other sources offering access to historical information on cinema, broadcasting, and sound history, the Media History Digital Library focuses specifically on public domain periodicals. Should a researcher seek this type of information, the Library provides solid research options without the distraction or confusing materials covering other topics. The ease of use and speed of downloads make the website experience worthwhile for both media historians and casual users. Although this information may be available elsewhere, such as through paid subscription database services, the convenience of having the material free and fully downloadable online is very useful, especially if a citation is known. The Lantern search platform supports complex and simple searches allowing for the maximum amount of relevant information.
