The American Radio Archives (ARA) is one of the largest collections of archival material documenting the history of radio broadcasting in the United States. Its more than 50 collections include the papers of important figures in the history of radio like Norman Corwin and Rudy Vallée, as well as the archives of the collections of the Pacific Pioneer Broadcasters and KNX radio with thousands of radio scripts tapes, and transcription discs.
The ARA was formerly housed at the Thousand Oaks Public Library which was owned and administered by the Thousand Oaks Library Foundation. It was donated in its entirety to the UCSB Library in 2021. The collections that form the ARA are a significant addition to UCSB’s already extensive collections related to broadcasting, media, and the performing arts.
Most ARA collections are now onsite at UCSB and thanks to generous support of the Ahmanson Foundation, collection inventories and finding aids are being integrated into UCSB Library systems to provide access to researchers, including the Special Research Collections website, the Online Archive of California, and the Special Collections Research Account. Further information on the individual collections is here:
List of ARA Collections and Finding Guides
Fall 2024 Update:
A full-time is working on the collection and inventories are systematically being added to OAC and the 24 collections that have been opened to researchers and are indicated on the list above. Some collections will remain inaccessible while they are processed and collection guides put online. Collections will be opened up to researchers as soon as possible when UCSB staff have physical access to the collections and there is sufficient intellectual control via our systems to facilitate researcher access. We are prioritizing high-use collections and we will begin providing services to additional collections as soon as possible.
For further information on registering as a UCSB researcher and requesting materials, go here or contact the Special Collections staff at library-special@ucsb.edu.
Image Credit: Norman Corwin and actress Peggy Burt on the “Magic Key of RCA” program. Circa late 1930s. Image rights: Diane Corwin Okarski.
