The Texas Historical Records Advisory Board (THRAB) is pleased to announce that University of North Texas (UNT) Libraries has been chosen to receive the 2018 Archival Award of Excellence for their NBC5/KXAS (WBAP) Television News Archive Project. The award, which will be presented at the DFW Archives Bazaar at the Dallas Heritage Village on Oct. 14, recognizes significant achievements in preserving and improving access to historical records in any format by a Texas archival institution.
“UNT Libraries is thrilled to receive this award, especially as we work in conjunction with NBC 5/KXAS-TV to celebrate their 70th anniversary this year,” said Morgan Gieringer, University Archivist and Head of Special Collections for UNT Libraries. “We hope this award will bring greater attention to this collection and will help us as we continue to work towards our goal of raising the funds necessary to complete our digitization and preservation efforts.”
Currently, the UNT Libraries have more than 10,000 news segments and 36,000 broadcast transcripts available through the Portal of Texas History. The Television News Archive includes footage from significant events in North Texas History, like the Ann Richards gubernatorial campaign of 1990, protests during the desegregation of Mansfield public schools and the 1993 Branch Davidian standoff in Waco. In addition to preserving important historical moments and providing material for research, the partnership allows UNT Libraries to generate revenue through licensing agreements that reinforce, support and further develop the Archive.
“Innovative projects like the Television News Archive at UNT demonstrate how creative partnerships may work to preserve our documentary record and foster new research by making accessible the primary resources which may otherwise remain hidden or lost to deterioration.” said Jelain Chubb, State Archivist and the board’s coordinator.
Learn more about the NBC5/KXAS Television News Archive Project in the online exhibit at https://exhibits.library.unt.edu/nbc5, or explore the individual items in the Portal of Texas History at https://texashistory.unt.edu/explore/collections/KXAS/browse/?sort=added_d.
2017 Recipients