What happens to the video recordings of all those ISEPP talks? The main purpose of the recordings was to serve season subscribers who couldn't make it in person, however, there's also a significant historical legacy represented in these hours of recordings before live audiences at the Schnitzer (usually) in Portland, Oregon. Jane Goodall, Sir Roger Penrose, Carl Sagan, Jean-Michel Cousteau, Bob Ballard, Jill Tarter, Rebecca Goldstein, Lynn Margulis... lots on prehistory, dinosaurs, the future of the planet, Noah's Ark, religious perspectives.
However, this was mostly a shoestring operation with reasonably good equipment for the day. Recordings of slides on a screen, minus any live feed from a projector, was pretty much state of the art in our time, nor is the Schnitzer a TV studio. The "big theater" venue is a feature we're glad of.
One proposal is to establish a practice of watching in small groups, minimum two, so there's real conversation even during the replay, the privilege you have when watching a recording (to talk over the talker), along with pause and rewind. Take notes, circle high points, use definite time signatures if possible, and file somewhere, in a blog, Wiki... someplace searchable. Bound copies could reach the library.
The goal is to make taking inventory a fun and rewarding experience for those engaged in it, like having a front row seat with permission to talk, during one of the many great lectures we hosted in Portland, during our fun in the sun over those very productive and star studded ISEPP lecture seasons. These were named in honor of Linus Pauling which helps explain the willingness of some of our guests to join us on the far reaches of the Pacific Rim.
