MAP is designed to introduce independent film and video into history curricula in colleges and universities. North Americans receive much of their knowledge of history from Hollywood films and television. Independently produced film and video offer other points of view. They introduce new subjects, new voices, new styles. The Media Alternatives Project has identified a body of 126 independent films and videos by and about African American, Asian American, Latino, and Native American people which have been acquired for the Avery Fisher Center's collection.
All titles are available in video format.
Projects like MAP usually originate in academic departments. But libraries have advantages over individual departments in that they serve the entire institution, keep longer hours, and in the case of Bobst Library, have a centralized media collection upon which to build. Students and faculty have come to expect the Library to provide access to culturally diverse subject matter as well as the latest media technologies. This project has generated far more interest than we could have anticipated. Bobst Library is currently using a Mac IIci with a Pioneer LDV8000 laserdisc player.