In the four decades since video emerged as an artist's tool, an explosion of media formats has served as the catalyst for a broad array of independent media and art. With each new artistic or technical development comes a preservation challenge. Videotape decays. Playback machines break down. Computer disks become corrupted. As the worlds of art and media change, the preservation and conservation worlds change with them.

Independent Media Arts Preservation (IMAP) [www.imappreserve.org] has created the Preservation sections of this website, in cooperation with EAI, as a way of bringing together the latest developments in the field of media preservation.

Whether you are a creator of media art, a caretaker, or a conservator, this site will help you better understand the problems that arise in preserving these works...and the solutions that can keep them alive for years to come.