Public libraries are becoming the de‑facto repositories and distribution points for film and game media as commercial streaming fragments, licensing churn, and merger‑driven removals make titles harder to access online. Libraries are deliberately acquiring physical copies, building game collections, and even evoking legacy rental branding to regain public attention and foot traffic.
— This reframes libraries from passive civic services into active cultural‑preservation institutions with policy stakes in copyright, public funding, and access rights.
Aeon Video
2026.01.07
60% relevant
The film’s emphasis on lost radio archives and recovery through performance resonates with the idea that cultural memory increasingly depends on archival rescue and alternative repositories (museums, community custodians) once commercial or state media archives are damaged or hidden.
BeauHD
2025.12.03
100% relevant
Quotes and programs from the Free Library of Philadelphia and a western New York audiovisual librarian, plus cited examples of titles pulled from circulation (HBO Max/Discovery+ churn, The People’s Joker dispute).
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