Maryland Public Television records
Collection
0087-MMC
Maryland Public Television, which began broadcasting in 1969, is a public television network that comprises six television stations that broadcast throughout the entire state of Maryland. MPT is a member of the Public Broadcasting Service. Since 1990, UMD Libraries have been the official repository of the MPT Records and have continued to accession materials on an ongoing basis.
The Maryland Public Television records consist of administrative documents, correspondence, memos, program guides, promotional materials, publications, photos, marketing and development plans, newspaper clippings, budgets, reports, and various audiovisual formats containing broadcast programs.
This collection is open to the public and must be used in the Special Collections reading room. Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection.
This collection contains restricted material. Please check the folder listings for additional information.
Photocopies or 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.
Archival materials may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal and/or state right to privacy laws or other regulations. While we make a good faith effort to identify and remove such materials, some may be missed during our processing. If a researcher finds sensitive personal information in a collection, please bring it to the attention of the reading room staff.
68.00 Linear Feet
6,053 Items (film and video)
English
Printed materials include approximately 68 linear feet of administrative records, correspondence, memos, program guides, promotional materials, publications, photos, marketing and development plans, newspaper clippings, budgets, and reports.
Audiovisual materials include over 6,000 films and videotapes containing programs, outtakes, and B rolls in a variety of formats, such as U-matic, Betacam, VHS, 1", ¾", and 2" tape and 16mm film.
Born-digital materials include PBS promotional images.
Maryland Public Television (MPT) is a public television network that comprises six television stations broadcasting throughout the entire state of Maryland, as well as into areas of the District of Columbia, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia. MPT began broadcasting in 1969 from its center in Owings Mills, MD, with a mission "to educate, entertain and enlighten the people of Maryland and beyond through creative programs and services of the highest quality, delivered through traditional public broadcasting and new multimedia technologies." MPT's broadcast licenses are held by the Maryland Public Broadcasting Commission, which was established in 1966, and it remains the only state-wide broadcaster in Maryland.
Throughout nearly half a century of broadcasting, MPT has produced many critically-acclaimed programs under the headings of news and public affairs, the performing arts, informational and how-to series. Its most popular programs include the well-loved children's show Hodge Podge Lodge, weekly financial series Wall $treet Week, On Stage at Wolf Trap, Critic's Place, MotorWeek, Outdoors Maryland, Madeleine Cooks and the Emmy Award-winning Crabs. MPT has earned national recognition and awards from organizations such as the International Film & TV Festival of New York, the Chicago International Film Festival, the National Education Film & Video Festival, the Baltimore Association of Black Media Works, the American Cancer Society, the Southern Educational Communications Association, the Columbus International Film Festival and the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.
This collection contains audiovisual materials. Items that cannot be used in the Special Collections reading room or are too fragile for researchers require that a digital copy be made prior to use. If you would like to access these materials, please contact us prior to your visit.
This collection contains born-digital materials. If you would like to access these materials, please contact us prior to your visit as items may require specialized software for access.
In March of 1990, UMD Libraries became the official repository of the MPT Records, and has continued to accession materials on an ongoing basis.
The print records in this collection have been processed at the folder level. Aside from some rough groupings of similar material, the collection came to the Libraries in no particular order. In most cases, the print materials have been arranged chronologically and by topic.
Oversize items, including large-format photographs, were removed from their original locations and placed in a separate boxes. The entire collection was re-boxed. An inventory provided by the donor is linked as an external document.
Audiovisual materials were shelved separately, in a loose arrangement of program title and date. Open-reel films were separated by format from videocassettes. Where available, links to digitized audiovisual content were added to the audiovisual series inventory.
Part of the Special Collections and University Archives