Encoded in EAD3 : Encoded Archival Description (EAD), Version 3 : Release: 1.1.1 : Release Date: 2019-12-16. Validating against latest version of schema.
Contact information: https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mbrsrs/mbrsrs.contact
Catalog Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/2019622000
DACS was used as the primary description standard.
Collection material is in English.
Acquisition of the AFRTS sound recordings by the Library of Congress began during the 1960s through the 1970s. Information on the acquisition of the paper components of the collection is unknown.
The November 2021 addition is Series XI: Television. No further accruals are expected.
The Armed Forces Radio and Television Service Collection was processed by Michelle Dubert-Bellrichard in 2019. The material in the television series was in the custody of the Moving Image Section until 2021.
Sound recordings from the Armed Forces Radio and Television Service Collection have been incorporated into the sound recording collections of the Library of Congress Recorded Sound Section. For additional information, contact a reference librarian in the Recorded Sound Research Center, National Audio-Visual Conservation Center, Library of Congress, Washington, DC, 20540-4690; (202) 707-7833.
Restrictions may exist on copying, quoting, or publishing material included in the collection. For additional information, contact a reference librarian in the Recorded Sound Research Center, National Audio-Visual Conservation Center, Library of Congress, Washington, DC, 20540-4690; (202) 707-7833.
The Armed Forces Radio and Television Service Collection is open to research. Advance notice is required; contact a reference librarian in the Recorded Sound Research Center, National Audio-Visual Conservation Center, Library of Congress, Washington, DC, 20540-4690; (202) 707-7833.
Digital versions of selected audio recordings from this collection are available for listening in the Recorded Sound Research Center, Library of Congress.
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [Container number, eg., Box 3], Armed Forces Radio and Television Service Collection, National Audio-Visual Conservation Center, Library of Congress
The Armed Forces Radio Service (AFRS) formed in 1942 as a part of the Morale Services Division of the War Department. The AFRS established with the mission to provide program services, shortwave programs, and broadcast equipment for overseas areas. As the AFRS expanded across the world, creating hundreds of new stations, it was determined feasible to provide television broadcasting to troops, and in 1954, the AFRS became the Armed Forces Radio and Television Service (AFRTS).
AFRTS' original programming focused on providing troop information, news, and education to service members. Falling under the Morale Services Division meant that programming initially focused on improving the mental attitude of service personnel. The AFRTS prided itself on its efforts to share the news as it happened without censorship or manipulation. As programming evolved, the AFRTS provided sports and entertainment programming. In an effort to provide content that could be seen and heard in the United States, the AFRTS worked with program owners, copyright holders, performing rights organizations, entertainment unions, and syndicators to make popular music, radio shows, and television programs available to troops and DoD personnel and their family members stationed overseas.
The records of the AFRTS Collection span the years of 1943-1997, with the bulk of the material dating from 1970-1992. Included in the collection is radio programming information, such as scripts, which makes up the largest portion of the collection, schedules, and distribution lists. Additionally, internal publications (like the Radio Round-Up and the AFRTS Newsletter) legal, financial, administrative paperwork, photographs, negatives, slides, and newspaper clippings also help document the significance of the AFRTS.
The collection is organized into ten series: scripts, publications, programming, administrative, history/archives, visual materials, Vietnam, events, correspondence, and miscellaneous.
Series 1, Scripts, contains a collection of AFRTS radio program scripts. The materials are primarily radio program series with a few one-off programs.
Series 2, Publications, represents AFRTS internal publications, as well as external publications written about the organization.
The following subseries fall under Series 2, Publications:
Series 3, Programming, documents the kinds of programming AFRTS created and curated from other sources. These materials show what AFRTS sent to its various stations throughout the world through its packing and distribution lists, schedules, and program listings for the radio and television.
The following subseries fall under Series 3, Programming:
Series 4, Administrative, details the inner workings of the AFRTS by including financial, legal, employee, and activity reports.
Series 5, History/Archives, demonstrates the AFRTS’ efforts to document its organization’s history and its plans to transfer materials to an archive.
Series 6, Visual materials, is a collection of photographic prints, often with their negative counterparts, and slides. Operations, events, radio talent, celebrity guests, and television graphics make up the majority of the series.
The following subseries fall under Series 6, Visual Materials:
Series 7, Vietnam, documents AFRTS operations in Vietnam during the Vietnam War. Detailed are the efforts to get programming to various stations in Vietnam, opening new stations throughout Vietnam, and maintaining broadcast standards despite the challenges posed by the war. These efforts are highlighted through correspondence, memos, reports, news clippings, and radio studies.
Series 8, Events, contains the planning and scheduling information for the AFRTS Golf Classic and Worldwide Conference.
Series 9, Correspondence, contains AFRTS communication with networks, artists, and fans. Topics range from programming inquiries to general appreciation of the AFRTS.
Series 10, Miscellaneous, is an assortment of files pertaining to priorities, talent, training courses, and various information about broadcast centers.
Series 11, Television, includes information on programming and efforts to provide programming to service people.
The following subseries fall under Series 11, Television, :
The Armed Forces Radio and Television Service Collection is organized in 11 series:
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the LC Catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically.