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Internet Archive regularly puts out calls for such works, and maintains several of those archives.

As a registered library, they can do this, and even make (at least some) works publicly available.



Why would the IA put out calls for unreleased, possibly unfinished work, that comes from a bankrupted studio? That seems like a very strange request. Do you have a link showing them asking for that? Also, what does being registered library have to do with being able to publish unreleased works that were never made available? I really think we're stretching credibility here


Unfinished works are still archivable, FWIW. US copyright law is in effect for any work of original authorship, for 95 years from publication, or 120 years from creation (whichever expires first) or author's life + 70 years: <https://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-duration.html>. After such time (and far sooner for works prior to post hoc copyright extensions) all works enter the public domain.

That said, yes, generally I'm more familiar with IA archiving published or broadcast works. Several of those collections are listed here: <https://archive.org/details/tv>.

Brewster Kahle addresses unpublished works in this essay, in part:

The traditional definition of a library is that it is made up of published materials, while an archive is made up of unpublished materials. Archives play an important function that must be maintained — we give frightfully little attention to collections of unpublished works in the digital age.* Think of all the drafts of books that have disappeared once we started to write with word processors and kept the files on fragile computer floppies and disks. Think of all the videotapes of lectures that are thrown out or were never recorded in the first place.*

<https://blog.archive.org/2020/10/07/on-bookstores-libraries-...>

(Emphasis added.)

That said, I haven't found any specific calls for donations of unpublished works, though my search was quite cursory.


> Think of all the videotapes of lectures that are thrown out or were never recorded in the first place.

This is ridiculous "never recorded in the first place". I really do not understand where people think that everything ever said anywhere any time must be recorded. That's some Black Mirror type logic.




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