An exceptional film collection valued at $1.7 million will be housed and preserved by the University of British Columbia and Simon Fraser University.
Videomatica – a long-loved video rental store that opened in 1983 and specialized in rare and esoteric titles – is donating the bulk of 28,000 DVDs, 4,000 VHS titles and 900 Blu-rays to UBC. The collection will be housed at UBC Library with more than 5,000 duplicates available at UBC’s Dept. of Theatre and Film. SFU receives about 2,800 documentaries from the collection.
The collection includes feature films, literary adaptations, cult and art films, foreign films from more than 75 countries, Canadian works and selections from the Vancouver International Film Festival.
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Access to the collection at UBC will be developed over the next 18 months for students, staff, faculty and community borrowers. SFU’s collection is slated to become available for borrowing in early 2013.
“We’re honoured to serve as the new home for an outstanding collection of films,” says Ingrid Parent, UBC’s University Librarian. “These titles, which number in the tens of thousands and cover a huge array of genres and topics, will serve as a valuable source of research and enjoyment.”
“SFU Library is thrilled to be the new home for Videomatica’s renowned collection of Canadian and international documentaries – carefully identified and acquired over the course of many years – and we plan to steward the material according to the highest professional standards,” says Charles Eckman, SFU’s Dean of Library Services.
Read the Complete Announcement
See Also: UBC and SFU to save Videomatica’s $1.7-million film collection (via Straight.com)
UBC purchased 4,151 VHS titles, plus DVDs and Blu-ray discs, from Videomatica for a total of $200,000 plus HST. Videomatica donated 27,957 DVDs, 4,000 VHS titles, and 900 foreign film Blu-ray discs (from over 75 countries) worth a total of $1,451,850. This part of the collection will be housed at UBC Library, with over 5,000 duplicates available at UBC’s Department of Theatre and Film. The remainder of the collection, which includes about 2,800 documentaries, was purchased by and gifted to SFU.
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