Motion picture academy lays off staff at archive and library amid broader restructuring

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has laid off 16 staff members from its archive and library as part of a broader restructuring that will bring all of the organization’s collecting, restoration and preservation efforts together under a newly formed Academy Collection and Preservation Department. In an internal email to staff obtained by The Times, academy CEO Bill Kramer, who took the reins of the organization in 2022, framed the changes as part of a broader strategic initiative over the past two years aimed at streamlining operations to align with the academy’s evolving mission. “While these moments can be challenging, they are designed to align our operations by combining functions with shared purposes and priorities.” Dedicated to the preservation, restoration and study of motion pictures, the Academy Film Archive holds one of the largest and most diverse collections of movies in the world, including every best picture nominee as well as the personal collections of filmmakers ranging from Cecil B. DeMille and Alfred Hitchcock to Jim Jarmusch and Penelope Spheeris. The Academy Library, also known as the Margaret Herrick Library, is one of the world’s foremost research facilities for motion picture preservation and study, with more than 52 million items, including books, photographs, scripts and costume design drawings.