Collections

Our Collections


Studebaker Lark commercial from 1960

The perpetuation and growth of the Library's historic assets – its extensive collections –serve our main mission of making the past and present of broadcasting accessible to the world at large. The breadth and depth of LAB collections are indicated by its 8,000 books, more than 6,000 audio tapes, 7,000 pamphlets, 300 periodical titles, 8,000 recorded discs, 2,000 scripts and a growing collection of video and film material. Among the more recent acquisitions is the Broadcasting Magazine Photo Archive, with more than 300,000 photographs dating from the 1920s to the present, one of the most historically significant collections in the nation and put to daily use by broadcasters, media and scholars.


Top Value Stamps commercial from 1960

Of special note are the individual collections, among them the Arthur Godfrey Collection, the Robert St. John Collection, the Ray Scherer Collection, the Dr. Alfred N. Goldsmith Collection, the Vox Pox Collection (one of the first man-on-the-street interview shows), the NBC Wisdom Collection (representing programs from 1951 to 1966), the American Women in Radio and Television Collection, the Papers of Helen Sioussat (the first woman to serve with Edward R. Murrow as a network news executive), the BMI Program Clinic Collection, the Radio Advertising Bureau Collection (over 2,000 discs containing radio commercials from the 1950s and 1960s) and the Television Information Office Collection of videotapes from the 70's and 80’s demonstrating public service broadcasting on local stations.

For further information on our Collection, please visit the Library’s University of Maryland Website at www.lib.umd.edu/LAB/