Kris Simms

July 5, 2006

IRLS 564: CLIC

My CLIC Presentation

Part 1. Building upon your industry sector knowledge, describe a “typical” corporate library and information center for that sector. Include the following in your report:

Founded in 1976, the MPI Media Group is one of the largest and most successful independent producers and distributors of movies, home video and music in the world. Today, the multi-million dollar company has amassed a library of over 60,000 hours of footage and the rights to some of the greatest video, film and music recordings in history.

Although the WPA considers itself a library, the WPA Film Library is termed as a film archive in the majority of film literature and reference books I came across. The WPA was founded in 1987 by independent producers, as a repository of archival and stock footage but later merged with MPI Media Group.

Part 2. What are the reporting lines within the company (in what unit is the CLIC placed/to whom in corporate management structure does the CLIC staff report);

The film library is structured into four reporting lines. Acquisitions is led by Kim Mazanek, Film Library Sales is headed by Diane Paradiso, Public Relations by Christie Hester, and Internet Advertising and Marketing Opportunities is led by Mike Zapputo. Each corporate manager reports to the MPI corporate leadership.

Part 3. What are the key products and services provided by the CLIC;

The WPA Film Libraries primary source of revenue is generated through the sale of stock footage. Records of the footage are stored on a database of over 400,000 records. They provide research assistants

Part 4. CLIC organization chart with staff job titles.

Although I could not find an organizational chart, I did find staff job titles. It seems as though there is a clear hierarchical relationship between the library and the parent group. But aside from research being under library sales, I could not find anymore evidence suggesting a hierarchy within the library itself. The jobs are listed as follows:

1. Home video and account distributions.

2. Home video title public performance rights.

3. Original & co productions.

4. Television programming sales.

5. WPA Film Library Acquisitions.

6. WPA Film Library Sales.

7. Public Relations

8. Internet Advertising and Marketing Opportunities.

Part 5. Who are the clientele or customers of your CLIC?

Clients and customers of the WPA film library usually fall into two camps. One, rights and licensing and two, stock footage.

1. Those invested in Home Video Title Public Performance Rights

2. Those in need of stock footage for commercials, documentaries, television, films, research-legal, medical, historical, music,

Part 6. Are there any unique attributes of the CLIC (like a secured vault or other special storage accommodations)?

The WPA Film Library is moving towards a greater emphasis on preservation. There currently are no special storage accommodations and the facility reflects a typical film archive. But a major task of the library is to convert film to video and video to DVD and other digital formats.

Part 7. Are there any technology requirements beyond those that are available to the entire enterprise?

Yes. Database management, web design, online research and digital formatting are all specific to the library.

Part 8. Give a general description of the CLIC’s collections and research materials

The WPA Film Library has over 100 collections but there most popular consist of: British Pathe Reel, WETA, Music Collections, Landmarks and Wildlife scenics, Americana, Training Films, and Classic Commercials.

Part 9. Give a brief “physical” description of the CLIC (please indicate here if ALL the services, collections and staff are virtual);

The WPA Film Library stresses that its collections and services (and I need to assume its staff) are not exhausted by their digital presence. The library is in Illinois and only states that its facilities are extensive.

Part 10. Are there any specific CLIC allies (IT department?) and competitors (IT department?) within the parent company or even external (contractors/outsourced/off-shored service providers?) to it;

WPA is especially strong in allies because with the project it has undertaken, the WPA Film Library buys and licenses material from National Geographic, television and film studios nationally and internationally, including the Federal Government.

Part 11. How does the CLIC contributes to the corporate mission AND bottom line;

The WPA Film Libraries mission is “Visualizing History,” and they do so by collecting, providing access, and disseminating film materials. The cost of licensing such materials is very high and ranges from $26 to $250 dollars per second. This is a industry standard but the WPA Film Library is looking at lowering costs on a case by case basis.

Part 12. How does the CLIC “markets” itself?

Although the WPA has a strong physical presence, its marketing campaigns are almost entirely virtual but they are well known within the Film Industry.

Sources

WPA Homepage (2006). Accessed July 2, 2006, from: http://www.wpafilmlibrary.com/index.html

MPI Homepage (2006). Accessed July 2, 2006, from : http://www.mpimedia.com/