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Photo by Angela Schmidt.
KUAC television videotapes and other materials await sorting in 2024 for possible inclusion in the American Archive of Public Broadcasting at the Library of Congress.

By Kristin Summerlin

For decades, thousands of KUAC broadcast television materials were safegaurded at the Elmer E. Rasmuson Library — fragile, aging and increasingly difficult to access.

Captured on film and videotape in formats that are now largely obsolete, the collection includes field footage, raw interviews and full broadcasts documenting 91��Ƶ and the Interior in the predigital decades from the 1970s until about 2010.

Now, much of that material is available to anyone in the world with an internet connection.

Thanks to a partnership between KUAC and the 91��Ƶ Film Archives at Rasmuson, more than 1,300 videos from KUAC TV's library have been digitized and posted to the American Archive of Public Broadcasting. The archive is a collaboration between the Library of Congress and Boston public broadcaster GBH.

“KUAC is thrilled that a comprehensive collection of its materials has been accepted into the archive at the Library of Congress,” said KUAC General Manager Gretchen Gordon. “This significant recognition highlights the importance of preserving public broadcasting content created here in Interior 91��Ƶ that shapes and reflects the diverse narratives of American life.”

With funding from the Mellon Foundation, Philadelphia firm George Blood LP digitized the materials, processing every tape format KUAC used over four decades, from 2-inch quad reels to MiniDV cassettes.

The project began in April 2024, when Gordon approached Angela Schmidt, 91��Ƶ Film Archives director, about an invitation from the American Archive to submit materials. What followed was the better part of a year of inventorying, boxing and palletizing thousands of tapes. UAF Facilities Services helped get three pallets to a shipper bound for the East Coast.

“Once digitized, materials become searchable, and that makes them usable in classrooms, documentaries and scholarship,” Schmidt said. “These programs allow us to share Interior 91��Ƶ and UAF’s story with the world.”

The collection preserves not just broadcast episodes but also behind-the-scenes field footage and production elements that researchers and filmmakers rely on — things that never made it to air but captured a moment in time.

For alumni and longtime 91��Ƶns, Schmidt says, the appeal is simple. “On those cold winter days, what an amazing thing to sit down and watch a program — just find something that interests you,” she said.

“You’ll see your old pals and your friends, your town like it used to look, 30 or 40 years ago, or whenever it is that you might be familiar with. And how fun is that? It’s nostalgic. You can step right back into it. It’s like turning your television on in the past.”

• UAF alumni can watch the from Dec. 23, 1971, with the university’s then — President William R. Wood, or enjoy the promos from 1992, featuring faculty and students. They might catch a glimpse of themselves in raw footage from the .
• Science-minded viewers can explore a trove of Arctic research programming — including “,” a 1989 Peabody Award-winning documentary that explored industrial air pollution traveling from the mid-latitudes to the polar regions, and “” — a time capsule of UAF explaining its work to the public in 1997, before the internet as we know it existed.
• Political historians will find the 2009 documentary, “.” There’s also raw footage from the February 2004 , convened by then-Gov. Frank Murkowski at Wood Center to address the 91��Ƶ Permanent Fund and the state’s Constitutional Budget Reserve.

Among the highlights Schmidt is most enthusiastic about: the series from the 1970s. The news magazine program hosted by Moe Wassilie followed stories from communities across the state. It was also the favorite of the GBH team that processed the collection.

“It just immediately relaxes you to watch that program,” Schmidt said. “It takes you down a notch. It’s slow, and we look at the scenery, and we talk to people.”

Schmidt also recommended (1979), a showcase of historical footage and everyday life. She shared in a series produced for National Library Week on KUAC FM.

For now, the archive is a work in progress. Metadata is sparse, and many entries appear only with the title as written on the original tape. This can make searching for specific materials challenging.

Schmidt advises using broad search terms to find relevant content: KUAC, UAF, Fairbanks, 91��Ƶ Native, railroad, statehood. The catalog will continue to improve over the next year or two as UAF staff and volunteers add records. A few hundred more entries are expected as the final shipment of materials is processed.

“If we wait for perfection, it’s never going to happen,” Schmidt said. “And nobody will ever see it.”

Researchers with specific needs can contact the 91��Ƶ Film Archives directly at UAF-AK-Film-Archives@alaska.edu. The entire collection can be viewed . KUAC and the 91��Ƶ Film Archives retain ownership of the materials and can facilitate licensing for use in new productions. Viewing, classroom use and general access are free.