NYPL TOFT Archive Question

[Thomas Jefferson]

Posted: 5/17/21 at 9:45pm

I've been planning on seeing a few recordings of shows at the TOFT Archive in the NYPL for the Performing Arts.  Is the rule that you can only see a recording once in your lifetime actually able to be enforced when there's different people working at the library?  Is there some kind of record that would prevent me from seeing the same taping ten years into the future?  I just don't want to see a bunch of recordings and then regret it because I don't remember it within a few months, and then I'm not allowed to see it again.

Obviously the rule is the rule, but you know what I mean.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 5/17/21 at 9:55pm

I’ve watched certain shows more than once.

[UnwoundFantasies]

Posted: 5/18/21 at 8:55am

I have also watched certain things multiple times. They are pretty chill there, or at least were in the past. But I would say a lot depends on who is working at the desk. They'll want you to be watching for an educational reason though. I would always say I'm writing a paper on the specific show. Just don't make it obvious you're just there to watch your favorite bootlegs and you'll be fine.

[kdogg36]

Posted: 8/11/23 at 12:57pm

This question comes from pure, idle curiosity!

Can individuals who were intimately involved with a production, like writers and directors, obtain their own copies of archived recordings, or do they also have to visit in person?

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 8/11/23 at 1:28pm

The archives can only be viewed at the library and can not be rented out or copied - even if you were the director and won a Tony Award for that show. The booths are also monitored so any attempt to whip out your phone to film even a second will get you kicked out and barred for life at the library. 

[cmorrow]

Posted: 8/11/23 at 2:49pm

kdogg36 said: "This question comes from pure, idle curiosity!

Can individuals who were intimately involved with a production, like writers and directors, obtain their own copies of archived recordings, or do they also have to visit in person?"

I work at the Performing Arts Library, directly with the TOFT archive. No one gets a copy of a video created for the archive, no matter what his or her connection with a production may have been. When Stephen Sondheim wanted to see a video of one of his own shows, he'd come to our building to see it. I saw him in the screening room on 2 or 3 occasions.

Some of the rules have changed in recent years. It's no longer necessary to specify why you wish to see a video. As long as you have a valid NYPL card, and a Special Collections account (to use research materials), that's good enough.

[kdogg36]

Posted: 8/11/23 at 5:15pm

Thank you, as always, for the definitive answer! My curiosity is fully assuaged.