Parks Library recently received a special donation from New York, which benefits the preservation of factual films at Iowa State.

Elvira Manna, the sister of animation innovator, industrial and educational film producer Albert Paganelli, has donated $100,000 from her estate to the American Archives of the Factual Film (AAFF), a special collection at the Parks Library, according to a press release.

“The Manna gift could not come at a better time. Libraries today are confronted with many challenges to preserve their films,” said Tyler Walters, head of the special collections department of the library, in a press release.

“It’s a fragile medium that is very important because it carries so much of our modern cultural heritage,” he said.

The gift will support special projects to increase access to the AAFF films and to make sure that the best ones are well preserved, Walters said.

The ISU library now has a collection of Paganelli’s papers, original artworks, films and photographs.

The gift will provide more access to the special collections at the library, which consists of 25,000 16mm business-sponsored, industrial, government and educational films.

The gift is also a part of a fund-raising campaign conducted by the ISU Foundation.

Titled “Campaign Destiny: To Become the Best,” it is the largest campaign in ISU history.

The campaign has a five-year goal to raise $300 million, according to a press release.

“The campaign is aligned with the strategic plan at Iowa State, which helps the institution become the best land-grant university in the nation, the best area in the country and possess the best film archives collection,” said Dalene Abner, public relations director for the Foundation.

Abner said the program started in September 1996 and involved all campaigns except the Presidential Scholarship Campaign.

The program will continue until the year 2000.

The program has generated more than $236 million in outright and deferred contributions from 1995 through February 1998.

“There are 32 alumni working for the campaign who provide aid in financial sources, leadership and all sorts of voluntary work,” Abner said. “The campaign also includes some international components from Malaysia.”

The fund-raising program will help the university get more gifts and donations for academic and research purposes, Abner added.