Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Becoming a Film Friendly Archivist Workshop

Friday, August 22, 2008

9am to 4pm

$50 per person (lunch on your own in Golden)

RSVP: Beth Heller, Preservation Librarian, 303.384.0110 x13

bheller @ americanalpineclub.org

This workshop furnishes the practicing archivist with skills to identify, assess, and preserve history caught on film.

Upon completion of this workshop participants will be able to:

  • Perform basic identification of film materials and evaluate their condition and contents;
  • Set preservation priorities for film materials and get accurate estimates for preservation work;
  • Identify sources of preservation funding and discuss methods for integrating motion picture materials into access, exhibition, and outreach efforts;
  • Begin thinking about film as an essential and approachable part of your collection, as well as the historical and cultural record archivists work to preserve;
  • Regard future acquisitions of film with confidence and a positive attitude.

Who should attend? Anyone who wants introductory experience with and knowledge of film materials.

Snowden Becker is a co-founder of the Center for Home Movies and the international Home Movie Day event. Along with her colleague Katie Trainor, she leads the "Becoming a Film-Friendly Archivist" workshop for the Society of American Archivists. Her doctoral studies at UT's School of Information are generously supported by fellowships from IMLS and the Donald and Sibyl Harrington Foundation.

Ms. Becker will be in Colorado to assess and preserve the 16mm film collection at the American Alpine Club. This project has been generously supported by AAC Board Member Travis Spitzer, and by Robert David of Cinema Lab.

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Friends of the Library Event

AIC Angels

World-class alpinist, journalist and Friend of the Library member, Pete Takeda, unearths the terrifying legacy of the Cold War's most daring CIA operation in his award-winning book, An Eye at the Top of the World.

Pete's book is a true story involving Cold War intrigue in the remotest part of the Himalayas and a deadly poison that could potentially be unleashed upon millions of people. This is an event that will appeal to history buffs, mountain climbers, and James Bond fans alike.

When and Where:

Thursday, July 24
7:00PM
The American Alpine Club Library
710 Tenth Street, Suite 15
Golden, CO 80401


About the Book:
In the mid-1960s, with the goal of gathering intelligence on China, the CIA undertook secret climbing expeditions to Uttarakhand, India to put a nuclear-powered spy device on top of Nanda Devi -- one of the most remote and forbidden peaks in the Himalaya.

The plutonium-powered spy device was abandoned high on the mountain as an oncoming storm approached. The device was lost in an avalanche and never recovered. Now, nearly four pounds of plutonium are locked in the glacier beneath the Nanda Devi and is threatening to poison the Ganges, one of the largest rivers in the world, which flows into the heavily populated region of Northern India.

Pete will retrace the account of his 2005 expedition to climb 22,000 foot Nanda Kot - a journey in which he attempted to retrace the footsteps of the failed 1965 CIA expedition described in his book. It is a fascinating story and Pete used the AAC Library extensively to research his book.

Event Details:
Admission is free to Friends of the Library members and $10.00 for regular AAC and CMC members, as well as the general public. Proceeds from the event will be contributed toward the National Endowment for the Humanities Challenge Grant the Library is applying for. You can also make an additional donation to the library online (please indicate that your gift be applied toward the grant).

Please RSVP to Gary Landeck at glandeck@AmericanAlpineClub.org or (303) 951-4564 by July 22.

We look forward to seeing you there!

The NEH Challenge Grant (Revisited)

Many AAC, CMC, and Friends members have asked about special projects we're working on in the Library. If you look at the blog sidebar called "Adopt a Preservation Project," you will see we are preserving film, building an intern program, and applying for grants, just to name a few.

In May, we submitted our application for the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Challenge Grant. NEH challenge grants help institutions and organizations secure long-term improvements and support for their humanities programs.

Winning the grant means the Library's entire collection would grow significantly, we would preserve rare and fragile materials, digitize and automate library services, improve programming and outreach, increase fundraising capabilities, be eligible for other grants, and establish a general library endowment of nearly $600,000 over the next five years.

The NEH Challenge Grant requires matching of actual and in-kind donations to the Library before federal funding is released. We have already raised $130,000 of the $1.3 Million we must obtain over the next five years to meet the grant requirements. Please consider helping the Library meet this challenge. You can sponsor one (or more!) of the above projects by clicking here.

The timing is perfect for the NEH Challenge grant. We are in the process of sending out our annual Friends of the Library appeal letter. This is our big annual fundraiser that helps to offset the Library's annual operating expenses. Be sure to keep an eye out for it as all of these donations can be used toward the NEH Challenge Grant. Make sure to indicate that your donation is to be pledged toward the grant.

We would love for you to be a part of this effort. Contact Gary Landeck (glandeck@AmericanAlpineClub.org) or Beth Heller (bheller@AmericanAlpineClub.org) if you would like to know more about the grant and make a contribution.

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Free! Movie Night July 15th, 7pm, Hard Grit

The American Alpine Club and The Colorado Mountain Club present the second in their monthly series of free movie nights at the American Mountaineering Center, Golden, CO. This month's movie is Hard Grit, SlackJaw Film's award-winning look at British gritstone climbing.

Here is the Official Trailer from SlackJaw

The movie starts at 7pm, Tuesday, July 15th, in Foss Auditorium. Stop by the Library before-hand and say hello, and put in your choice for next month's movie!


Here are a couple of YouTubes:
A Johnny Cash "I Hurt Myself"/Hard Grit Mashup:



Another One: