Ishmael Reed, African-American novelist, poet, and publisher, was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, on February 22, 1938. Reed moved with his mother to Buffalo, New York in 1942. His mother worked in various wartime industries and Reed attended public schools, graduating in 1956. He also played violin and trombone and began writing a newspaper column on jazz for the Empire Star Weekly when he was thirteen. He enrolled as an evening student at Millard Fillmore College, the night school division of the University of Buffalo, and worked as a clerk at the Buffalo public library during the day. His writing ability was quickly recognized, and he moved into the bachelor of arts program at the University of Buffalo. He withdrew in 1960 because of a "dire shortage of funds" (Gates) and a "wide gap between social classes" (Gates). To escape "the artificial social and class distinctions that he associated with American university education," (Gates) he moved to Buffalo's Talbert Mall Project. Daily exposure to systematic poverty cycles in the projects led him to political activism in the civil rights and Black Power movements.
Content types:
Performed music, Spoken word, Two-dimensional moving image, Text, and Still image
Formats:
Pressed LP disc, LaserDisc, Open reel tape (unknown material), Analog audiocassette, VHS (including SVHS and VHS-C), Betamax, Text document, Photographic print, and Microfilm
Extent:
Approximately 20 recordings, microfilm, 65 feet
Repository/Collector:
University of Delaware Library, Special Collections
WRAS Radio records, 1966-2009, contain materials documenting the Georgia State University student-run radio station. The collection consists of materials pertaining to day-to-day operations, tower construction and relocation, playlists, logs, news clippings, ephemera, station produced sound recordings (interviews, promos, drops) and sound recording submissions for the Georgia Music Show. Notable in the collection is the almost complete run of general manager files documenting the station’s activities under each manager.
Content types:
Performed music, Spoken word, Still image, and Text
Formats:
Pressed LP disc, Pressed 45rpm disc, Optical disc (Including CD, CD-R, CD-RW, DVD, DVD-R, DVD-RW, VCD), MiniDisc, Polyester open reel tape, Photographic print, and Text document
Extent:
8 linear feet, 900 Optical and 45rpm discs
Repository/Collector:
Georgia State University Special Collections and Archives
The records contain correspondence, memos, scrapbooks, news clippings, publicity materials, program log books, scripts, radio engineering lesson plans, contracts, licenses, photographs, sound recordings, moving image recordings, transcripts, and artifacts relating to the early history of WSB Radio, to WSB performers, programs, awards, and sponsored events (such as news workshops and career conferences for students), and to WSB-FM and WSB-TV.
Content types:
Notated music, Performed music, Spoken word, Still image, Text, Three-dimensional form, and Two-dimensional moving image
Formats:
Pressed LP disc, Pressed 78rpm disc, Pressed 45rpm disc, Lacquer disc, Analog audiocassette, Polyester open reel tape, Motion picture film, Photographic print, Photographic negative, and Text document
Extent:
24 linear feet, 250 Lacquer discs, 40,000 Pressed 78rpm, LP, and 45rpm discs
Repository/Collector:
Georgia State University Special Collections and Archives
We have a massive collection of about 50,000 recordings on CD and vinyl, in addition to both digital and tape airchecks spanning several decades. We also have program guides, advertisements, and station produced publications.
Content types:
Performed music, Spoken word, Still image, and Text
Formats:
Open reel tape (unknown material), Digital Audio Tape (DAT), Photographic print, Digital audio file (including MP3, WAV, AIFF, etc.), Pressed LP disc, Pressed 78rpm disc, Pressed 45rpm disc, Optical disc (Including CD, CD-R, CD-RW, DVD, DVD-R, DVD-RW, VCD), Analog audiocassette, MiniDisc, Text document, Printed brochure, and Printed magazine