The UC Santa Barbara Library is pleased to announce that it has been awarded a generous $100,000 grant by The Ahmanson Foundation to support the preservation and accessibility of the American Radio Archives (ARA).
The ARA is one of the nation’s largest collections documenting the history of radio broadcasting. It was acquired by UCSB Library in 2021 from the Thousand Oaks Library Foundation, which was supported for many years by the late Robert Ahmanson, the founder of The Ahmanson Foundation. The ARA comprises over 50 collections, including the papers of radio legends Norman Corwin and Rudy Vallée, the archives of the Pacific Pioneer Broadcasters (PPB), and KNX radio materials. With thousands of scripts, tapes, and transcription discs, this remarkable archive complements UCSB Library’s extensive collections on broadcasting, media, and the performing arts.
The recent award is The Ahmanson Foundation’s second grant award in support of the ARA. The Foundation’s 2022 grant award supported the initial processing and cataloguing of the collection by UCSB Library staff, and the integration of collection inventories and finding aids into Library systems. To date, approximately 40% of the ARA has been processed. The new grant award will enable the Library to complete the cataloging of the collection and further integrate its materials into Library systems. The project will also include digitization of select high-research-value materials, providing online access to fragile audio recordings and rare documents in order to support research and scholarship in the history of broadcasting and media.
“The American Radio Archives hold an extraordinary place in preserving our cultural and media history,” said David Seubert, the Curator of the Library’s Performing Arts Collection. “The continued support from The Ahmanson Foundation ensures that we can complete the work of cataloging and digitizing this essential collection, making it accessible to scholars, students, and the public.”
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The American Radio Archives was established in 1984 and grew significantly with the purchase in 1987 of radio memorabilia from the estate of Rudy Vallée (pictured), one of the nation’s most popular singing bandleaders and personalities. Vallée documented his career, which took off in the 1920s, through an extensive array of journals, photographs and original pieces of advertising.
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Norman Corwin and actress Peggy Burt on the “Magic Key of RCA” program. Circa late 1930s. Image rights: Diane Corwin Okarski.
