AUDIOVISUAL COLLECTION
This collection features more than 1 million feet of motion picture film, more than 500 reel-to-reel and cassette audiotapes, more than 500 videotapes, and 50 disc recordings. The collection spans from 1890 to the present and includes Santa Fe film archives, John Brinkley films, and newsreels from KSNT and WIBW television stations.
Film Collection
Kansas Emergency Relief Committee (KERC)
In order to obtain federal emergency loans to address a water shortage, Governor Harry Woodring issued an executive order in 1932. The federal program, created by President Herbert Hoover, provided supplemental loans to states in need. President Franklin Roosevelt expanded the program as states continued to struggle to survive the drought, unemployment, and the Great Depression.
In Kansas the program supported water conservation through construction of farm ponds and lakes. The jobs program helped renovate and construct courthouses, schools, libraries, and airports, among other activities.
A film, produced in 1936, and extensive reports documented the Kansas Emergency Relief Commission. The 115-minute film, on three reels, highlights work efforts, including construction of the Wichita airport.
Kansas Memory
Find samples in our online digital archives
How to Access this Collection
Much of the collection can be viewed in person in the Research Room in Topeka.
Because of the range of original formats, we request prior notification through this form submission.
Find descriptions of the audio-visual collection in the Archives Catalog.
Select items in this collection are available through Kansas Memory:
How to Purchase Copies in this Collection
Some copies of audio-visual materials are available to be ordered, based on format.
Please use this form to place an order.
How to Donate to this Collection
We rely on the generous donations of materials that tell the story of Kansas history, or loans that allow duplication. Please use this donor form.
