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National Association of Educational Broadcasters (NAEB) audio tapes

 Collection 0485-MMC

The National Association of Educational Broadcasters (NAEB) was a US organization of broadcasters coordinating educational radio programs. These audiotapes cover 1952-1973 and consist of 5,063 audiotape reels. The collection also houses one set of transcription discs. NAEB was eventually absorbed into National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting System.

The majority of audio tapes are radio programs distributed by the NAEB's radio service to National Educational Radio Network members. Programs covered numerous subjects, including arts and literature, the social sciences, health and medicine, drama, classical music studies, in-school instruction, and current events. These programs were produced by individual radio stations, colleges and universities, international broadcasters (such as the British Broadcasting Corporation), independent producers, and the NAEB itself.

Also, a small number of the audiotapes contain conference proceedings and other administrative activities of the NAEB. While these tapes were possibly distributed to member stations, they were not intended for broadcast.

Dates

  • 1952-1968

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open to the public. Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection.

Conditions Governing Use

Digital surrogates may be provided in accordance with Special Collections and University Archives duplication policy.

Copyright resides with the creators of the documents or their heirs unless otherwise specified. It is the researcher's responsibility to secure permission to publish materials from the appropriate copyright holder.

Extent

5,063 Tape Reels

Biographical / Historical

The National Association of Educational Broadcasters (NAEB) was founded in 1925 as the Association of College and University Broadcast Stations (ACUBS). Its mission was “to advance, by united effort and mutual cooperation... the end that the educational, cultural, and technical benefits of electronic communications may be extended to all,” according to a statement issued by the organization in 1934.

At its inception, ACUBS’ membership consisted of institutions that owned or operated an educational radio station. These founding institutions included the State University of Iowa, the University of Wisconsin, Iowa State University, the Ohio State University, and the University of Illinois. Representatives from these and other educational institutions gathered for the first time at the 1925 National Radio Conference in Washington, D.C.

Later, ACUBS broadened its membership criteria to include any college or university that produced radio programs, whether for its own educational radio facility or for a nearby commercial station. This policy change prompted the organization to rename itself the National Association of Educational Broadcasters (NAEB) in 1934.

During that same year, the Communications Act established the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and a new framework for the regulation of broadcasting. A priority for the newly-formed FCC was to consider reserving portions of the AM, and later FM, broadcast bands for non-commercial, educational purposes. No such frequency reservation was made by the FCC, however, until 1945.

Throughout the 1930s and early 1940s, NAEB membership remained at about 25 stations nationwide. By 1948, however, membership grew to over 100 stations, and to over 200 by 1954. The NAEB’s programming distribution service was, in large part, responsible for attracting new members. In 1949, the “bicycle network” — a system of tape-recorded program exchanges — began, and in 1951 the Kellogg Foundation provided the NAEB with a grant of $245,000 to establish the network’s first permanent headquarters, in the basement of Gregory Hall at the University of Illinois in Urbana.

From 1951 until 1960, the NAEB duplicated and shipped tape-recorded programs from its University of Illinois home. In 1960, the NAEB moved its headquarters to 1346 Connecticut Ave., N.W., in Washington, D.C., where it remained for about 20 years.

Passage of the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967 introduced federal funding of public broadcasting and led to a fundamental restructuring of educational radio and television in the United States. By 1971, the newly-formed National Public Radio assumed much of the NAEB’s program production and distribution services. As a result, the NAEB’s radio service — the National Educational Radio Network — ceased operations. (A similar change occurred in 1969 when the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) supplanted National Educational Television.) The NAEB, in its final years, shifted its role from program distributor to professional society. It closed its offices about 1980.

Many of the institutions that comprise public broadcasting today-the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, NPR, and PBS-grew from the earlier efforts of the NAEB. The concept of reserved television channels and FM frequencies for educational, non-commerical use can also be traced to NAEB's advocacy during the 1930s and 1940s.

Arrangement

The tapes are arranged in two series. The contents of each series are arranged alphabetically by program title.

Series 1
National Educational Radio Network Broadcasts
Series 2
National Association of Educational Broadcasters Conference and Administrative Proceedings

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

This collection contains audiovisual materials. Digital copies must be used. If no copy exists, one must be made prior to use. If you would like to access these materials, please contact us prior to your visit.

Custodial History

Storage of tapes in the collection began in 1951 at the University of Illinois at Urbana. From 1960-1975, NAEB housed the tapes in their Washington, D.C., headquarters until they were transferred to NPR in 1975. In October of 1990, NPR gave the tapes to the University of Maryland Libraries in College Park, Maryland. A much smaller accession was transferred from NPR in March 1994.

Existence and Location of Copies

The majority of tapes in this collection were digitized as part of a grant from the Corporation from Public Broadcasting in 2013. The recordings are available via the University of Maryland's collection at the American Archive of Public Broadcasting. Currently, 945 tapes from NAEB are available for listening on the website. The remaining tapes are not yet available due to copyright. Please contact us for more information.

Related Materials

The Wisconsin Historical Society holds the adminstrative records of the NAEB, which consist of correspondence, speeches, adminstrative files, and publications and newsletters.

The University of Maryland Libraries also holds the papers of individuals and published materials related to NAEB. These include:

Processing Information

The processing archivist adapted the arrangement system of NAEB when possible. The chronological order of the items were verified. Fewer than 200 of the tapes had no serial number of other identification. Each tape container was emptied of debris and exterior was cleaned and lightly scraped of loose matter, such as brittle transparent adhesive tape.

Title
Guide to the National Association of Educational Broadcasters (NAEB) audio tapes
Status
Completed
Author
Processed by David McCartney. Updated by Joanne Archer.
Date
1996-08
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
Undetermined
Script of description
Code for undetermined script
Language of description note
Finding aid written in English

Revision Statements

  • 2021-07-16: Jim Baxter re-wrote the collection abstract.

Library Details

Part of the Special Collections and University Archives

Contact:
University of Maryland Libraries
Hornbake Library
4130 Campus Drive
College Park Maryland 20742
301-405-9212