NASA to merge media archives

NASA has more than 115,000 film and video titles and millions of still images, and it wants all of them to be publicly accessible online. NASA seeks a contractor to handle digitization, consolidation, and Internet interface of agency analog, video and graphic imagery. The archive is intended to replace NASA's various disconnected archives. The space agency does not expect to spend any money outside its operating budget on the project. The successful bidder, rather than being paid by NASA, would have the right to use the material for its own purposes. NASA officials hope that will attract proposals from organizations with experience in archiving, such as Hollywood entities and universities, as well as the usual commercial vendors who bid on government information technology projects of this type. "If this works out correctly, since it's entrepreneurial, it shouldn't cost the taxpayer anything, except what we'd spend on normal business," said NASA spokesman Doc Mirelson. "The partner would have commercial rights to the use of the images in most cases. There are other uses available beyond public access that could be either educational or commercially or historically viable."