Preserving Audiovisual History

NEH funding has helped the Sarnoff Collection preserve its collection of audiovisual objects. Here, students explore items from the collection during a class visit. Image courtesy of the Sarnoff Collection.

Named for David Sarnoff, a visionary radio and television executive, the Sarnoff Collection houses more than 6,000 objects associated with the Radio Corporation of America. With photographs, papers, and historical artifacts, the collection preserves, interprets, and makes accessible the history of radio and television broadcasting. But with objects like early vacuum tubes, phonographs, radios, and televisions, the collection faces a unique problem. In addition to preserving delicate photographs and papers—a task required of most archives—the Sarnoff Collection has to preserve early- to mid-twentieth century electronics that are beginning to decay. A recent NEH grant is helping the Sarnoff Collection assess and prioritize objects for treatment, ensuring that they are both preserved for the future and that they are safe for handling now.

Students play vintage video games during a visit to the Sarnoff Collection. Image courtesy of the Sarnoff Collection.

A curator from the Sarnoff Collection opens an exhibition with a talk on audiovisual history. Image courtesy of the Sarnoff Collection.

Located at The College of New Jersey, the Sarnoff Collection combines elements of an archive, a museum, and a college classroom. In addition to preserving its unique objects, the collection offers temporary exhibitions and public programming such as lectures and hands-on activities. And the collection’s archive is used by researchers and college students alike, as many faculty integrate its offerings into their syllabi. When the New York Times ran an article highlighting the challenges museums around the nation face in their efforts to preserve our plastic material history, staff at the Sarnoff realized that their collection was both vulnerable and potentially dangerous. In addition to becoming brittle or melting, as plastics break down over time they also off-gas chemicals, some of which may be hazardous. With students using the collection on a regular basis, the staff were especially motivated to ensure that they could do so safely.

Plastic conservators are few and far between. NEH funding helped the Sarnoff Collection hire a consultant who fully assessed the collection, highlighting objects in need of immediate treatment and those that might pose hazards. In addition, the consultant made recommendations for future care of the collection, helping the Sarnoff Collection establish a preservation plan and maintain their unique archive in the future.