[Back to Formatted Version]

KBVR-TV Moving Images and Sound Recordings, 1979-2013

By Finding aid prepared by Chris Petersen, Anna Dvorak and Elizabeth Nielsen.

Collection Overview

Title: KBVR-TV Moving Images and Sound Recordings, 1979-2013

Predominant Dates: 1996-2012

ID: FV 170

Primary Creator: KBVR (Television station : Corvallis, Or.)

Extent: 18.25 cubic feet. More info below.

Arrangement: The collection is organized into five series: 1. Videotapes, 1979-2006; 2. DVCAM tapes, 1996-2013; 3. MiniDV cassettes, 2002-2013; 4. DVDs and CDs, 2003-2012; 5. Digital Audio Tapes, 2003-2004. Materials are arranged alphabetically within each series, and chronologically within each letter of the alphabet.

Languages of Materials: English [eng]

Abstract

The KBVR-TV Moving Images and Sound Recordings consist largely of original television productions created by Oregon State University students from the mid-1990s to early 2010s, including scripted comedies and dramas, unscripted educational and reality shows, nightly news broadcasts, and programs focusing on OSU athletics. The collection also holds footage documenting a wide variety of campus events, beginning with the 1979 commencement exercises and including, in particular, musical performances such as the annual Battle of the Bands and IFC Sing events. Likewise available within this collection are numerous public service announcements, station breaks, lectures, and class projects archived by KBVR-TV over the years. A substantial number of items from this collection have been migrated to digital format and are available online or upon patron request.

Scope and Content Notes

The KBVR-TV Moving Images and Sound Recordings are arranged into five series that have been organized according to media format. A great many specific titles and events are represented in more than one series, as they were recorded to more than one media format. Each series contains original student programming with a heavy emphasis on nightly news broadcasts, recordings of musical performances, and programs focusing on OSU athletics. Likewise included are an array of scripted dramas and comedies, as well as unscripted productions including cooking shows, exercise programs, and reality television series. Various lectures and panel discussions are also available. A substantial number of items from this collection have been migrated to digital format and are available online.

The collection includes a broad diversity of material types. Series 1 consists primarily of VHS videotapes but also includes 11 U-matic tapes. Series 2 holds three different types of DVCAM tapes, with the primary format being DVCAM 24. Series 3 is comprised of MiniDV cassettes, and Series 4 largely consists of DVDs along with a much smaller number of compact discs. Series 5 is comprised of Digital Audio Tapes. The VHS components of this collection are available to patrons visiting the SCARC reading room. Notably, the contents of all discs described in Series 4 have been migrated off of physical media and most are available online. The rest of the materials in Series 4 are available upon patron request.

While the collection holds a wide array of titles, certain programs are especially well-represented. Titles that occur with greater frequency in the collection include: Back to the Theater, Beaver Sports, Blonde Bombshells on the Hour, Bodywise, Bombshell Music News, Comedy Show, Greek Pads, The Jota Show, KBVR News, KBVR Sports Extra, Limited Reality, Locals Live, Naomi's Itadakimasu, No Big Whoop, Northwest Morose, OSU Dating Game, OSU Got Talent, OSU Underground, Plan 11, and Trading Rooms: Oregon State Edition.

In addition to original programming, the collection also includes footage of a number of campus events. Prominent among these are the 1979 and 1980 OSU commencement cermonies; several iterations of the annual Battle of the Bands, Flat Tail, and IFC Sing musical events; the 2011 Peace Jam conference; multiple Ms. OSU pageants; assorted meetings and programs sponsored by the Associated Students of Oregon State University and the International Students of Oregon State University; student media training seminars; campus fashion shows; OSU athletic competitions; and Crescent Valley High School wrestling meets from 2005-2007.

The collection likewise contains materials that document the daily operations of KBVR-TV. These items include public service announcements, station breaks, and other promotional pieces. Also held within the collection are an assortment of student class projects, often created to satisfy the requirements of OSU's New Media Communications (NMC) curriculum.

Biographical / Historical Notes

KBVR-FM, Oregon State University's student-operated campus radio station, began broadcasting in 1965 as a 10-watt station. Less than two years later, in January 1967, KBVR-TV began broadcasting for several hours one or two evenings per week, initially on the closed circuit television system used as a component of classroom instruction. By Spring 1968, the television station was broadcasting publicly; it's initial programming line-up consisted of a weekly newscast and an interview with the student body president, also broadcast once a week.

Both the radio and television stations were originally located in Shepard Hall, but moved to the Memorial Union East (Snell Hall) when that facility was completed in 1977. All of Student Media, including KBVR-TV, moved into the newly built Student Experience Center in 2015.

KBVR radio and television are funded and administered through the Memorial Union and Student Activities as one of the components of Student Media. KBVR-TV broadcasts on Corvallis public access channel 26 and also streams live on the website of OSU's Orange Media Network.



Author: Elizabeth Nielsen and Chris Petersen

Administrative Information

More Extent Information: 1,058 physical items including 483 VHS tapes and 11 U-Matic tapes; 99 DVCAM tapes; 242 MiniDV cassettes; 209 DVDs and CDs; and 14 Digital Audio Tapes. 493 images (1.45 GB) born digital. 23 boxes.

Statement on Access: Collection is open for research. However, only the videotapes and discs described in Series 1 and Series 4 are available for immediate viewing in the SCARC reading room. In addition, digital surrogates derived from the contents of Series 4 are the only form of patron access available for that series.

Acquisition Note: The videotapes of the 1979 and 1980 commencement exercises described in Series 1 were acquired by the University Archives in 1980. The remainder of the collection was transferred to the Special Collections and Archives Research Center from KBVR-TV in 2015.

Related Materials:

The KBVR Photographs (P 170) consist of color slides made or assembled for use in television productions. Other materials pertaining to KBVR are available in the Memorabilia Collection, the Memorial Union and Student Activities Records (RG 099), and the Student Media Records (RG 239).

Two oral history interviews with Dick Weinman, who was instrumental in the early establishment of KBVR-TV, are available in the Oregon State University Sesquicentennial Oral History Collection (OH 26).

Other moving images collections that emphasize OSU campus events and culture include the Alumni Association Motion Picture Films and Videotapes (FV 017), the KOAC-TV Films (FV 207), the Media Services Moving Images (FV 119), the News and Communication Services Motion Picture Films and Videotapes (FV 057), and the Student Affairs Moving Images (FV 182).

Preferred Citation: KBVR-TV Moving Images and Sound Recordings (FV 170), Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Oregon State University Libraries.

Processing Information:

We acknowledge that materials in SCARC collections and the language that describes them may be harmful. We are actively working to address our descriptive practices; for more information please see our SCARC Anti-Racist Actions Statement online.

The archivist-prepared description of this collection uses the phrase “Civil War” to refer to the long-standing athletic rivalry between Oregon State University and the University of Oregon. A history of this athletic rivalry, and use of the phrase “Civil War” to describe it, is available online in The Origins of the "Civil War" Football Game blog post.

In June 2020, Oregon State University President Edward J. Ray announced that the term  “Civil War” will no longer be used by either university because it “represents a connection to a war fought to perpetuate slavery.”

We acknowledge the racism represented by the use of this phrase and the harm it may cause our users. In order to provide historical context and to enable standardized searching and access across our collections, we have retained the use of this phrase in the collection description.

[Date of acknowledgement: November 2021]

Creators

KBVR (Television station : Corvallis, Or.)

People, Places, and Topics

Basketball for women--Oregon--Corvallis.
College wit and humor
Commencement ceremonies--Oregon--Corvallis.
KBVR (Television station : Corvallis, Or.)
Music--Performance.
Music festivals--Oregon.
Oregon State University--Faculty.
Oregon State University--Students.
Oregon State University. Athletics.
Oregon State University. Office of Student Media
Television broadcasting.
Television broadcasting of news.
Television in higher education--Oregon--Corvallis.
University History

Forms of Material

Compact discs.
DVDs.
Video recordings (physical artifacts)


Box and Folder Listing