entry 2

In preparation for my second internship session with Dr. Patricia Ulbrich of In Sisterhood, I began to research the copyrights on a few videos from the organization’s film collection. While all but one video fell into the limits of their online searchable database, I was unsuccessful in finding any of the items I was looking for. The one item that came before the January 1978 searchable database cutoff time period also, obviously, could not be found via the government’s webpages. I did take note of the Library of Congress Copyright Office Record Research department’s phone and fax numbers in case she wished to use their services. When I arrived at her office, Dr. Ulbrich had received more video donations. Once she finished sorting through them to determine which ones might be beneficial and relevant to In Sisterhood’s mission, I prepared to enter these new contributions into the inventory. I gave her a report on my earlier searches via www.copyright.gov. She revealed that an acquaintance of hers had given her the email address of Don Farmer, the reporter who had done the 1977 ABC news story on the ERA. She asked me to craft an email to Mr. Farmer about copyright details for his reports. After reviewing my first draft, she decided she would compose an email to Farmer herself at a later time. She double-checked and realized that she had a lunch meeting downtown, so she let me know our session would be ending earlier than usual. When I informed her that my ride was scheduled to pick me up at our original end time, she kindly offered to give me a ride to 5th Avenue. I respectfully declined and patiently waited for my ride on a frequently-used stairwell by the office, since no visitor seating was available in the office building. 302 words

entry 1

During my first session with Dr. Patricia Ulbrich of In Sisterhood, she expressed a few desires she hoped my internship would accomplish. She mentioned a major, immediate concern to discover the copyright details to several of the videos within the organization’s collection. Her ultimate goal is to infuse the organization’s multimedia display with film materials she has gained permission to use. The In Sisterhood video collection is varied. The first task was to conduct an inventory of all of the materials within the collection. Some older materials had been digitized to newer media forms. While Dr. Ulbrich found a vendor who had the available equipment to transfer the majority of her older video materials, I believe one video was not able to be retrieved because the vendor did not have the player equipment necessary to view it. This, of course, speaks to the difficulty of film collections. As the technologies change, the obsolete machinery is only kept for so long before it is discarded and the knowledge base of users shrinks as the years go by as well. Most video materials have been lent or donated to the In Sisterhood organization, but some materials were purchased. The video inventory included information concerning the video’s title, director, producer(s), copyright date, source (how In Sisterhood obtained it), and an abstract of the film’s contents. Each film was also attributed with one of these three labels: Pittsburgh feminists, women’s movement, and general social movements. This inventory was produced in a Microsoft Word document, as Dr. Ulbrich prefers this program over Microsoft Excel. One video Dr. Ulbrich is interested in utilizing for her display is a 1977 ABC news piece on the Pittsburgh delegation during the passage of the ERA in Washington, D.C. Another is a roundtable discussion with notable Pittsburgh feminists filmed at a local community cable station. Others are N.O.W. anniversary ceremony videos. 311words