Question Eight: What can be done to preserve and share the treasures of the Pacifica Archives?

KPFA Listener-Sponsor candidates

Carl Bryant -

Steven Conley - Open up access and make the archives more accessible to libraries also monthly online archive radio hour programs.

Bob English - Raise money to preserve the treasures we have. Very important.

Dianne Enriquez - Fundraising! The only way to ensure the preservation of our archives is to fund the restoration and preservation process, somehow.

Sherry Gendelman - There remain years of precious audio tapes that need to be transferred to digital format. That is the first and most important work of the archives. The question is how to fund the archives, if their budget is separate from the national office budget. Currently the archives host on air fund drives. I do not believe this is best way to raise money for the archives. It is true they are our history, and once restored, will be source of revenue for Pacifica for years to come.

Mathew Hallinan –

Chandra Hauptman – Ensure that all stations air new archives program “From the Vault”

• Provide a second day of Archives fundraising at all stations.

David Heller – I am not an IT expert, but it seems that the technology to digitize large volumes of data is becoming ever more cheaper and easier to download.

Organizing college interns to go into the archives and convert the huge volumes of material to a digital form, perhaps for a stipend, might be one way to get it done quickly and cheaply.

Warren Mar – I know we have a great archive but I’m not familiar with how they are kept now, so that is something I would have to study. As someone who was involved in other movement archives from the late 60’s, I know keeping things well stored and cared for is important (and expensive), but we also want it accessible to younger researchers, etc., so if there is a way to do both, that would be the most important political consideration.

Susan McDonough - These Archives are now located at KPFK in LA -- tapes which include historic speeches and interviews with greats including Langston Hughes, Paul Robeson.. It is crucial that funds be raised by the Pacifica Foundation to transfer, preserve and protect this invaluable history. These treasures should be played periodically, and could be used as premiums during fund drives.

Antonio Medrano - Are they accessible via the internet? Contents (lists) should be made available to activists, teachers, unions.

Attila Nagy - Allocate ample funds in Pacifica’s budget to digitize all of Pacifica’s tapes to preserve their historical value. Do special fundraisers – not only on-air but with special events. Offer the material to educational institutions for a fee.

Richard Phelps – We have to make it a priority. History is very important and something the corporate media tries to get us to forget or they force their spin on us as the truth. Special fundraising should be done and we should make programs available to more colleges and libraries as we have been doing.

Mara Rivera - The Archives are our Alexandrian Library and need to be preserved, shared and replayed regularly.
The Archives should receive adequate funding and have their own fundraising days supported.

Paul Robins - Digitize it. Follow the example of one of KPFA’s own, Chris Strachwitz’ collaboration with UCLA to save Mexican 78s. This required grants.

CC Campbell Rock – The archives should be preserved digitally and stored at local libraries in a special archive. Also, a special archive should be set up in the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.

Tracy Rosenberg – Play them! People don’t know the extent of what’s there. “From the Vault” – Pacifica’s archive treasure show should have a place on the KPFA schedule.

Gerald Sanders - We have to make it a priority. History is very important and something the corporate media tries to get us to forget or they force their spin on us as the truth. Special fundraising should be done and we should make programs available to more colleges and libraries as we have been doing.

Sureya Sayadi - We need to establish a 24 hour channel on the web that would broadcast these archives and develop a schedule that could be brought into the schools and in workplaces. We could have broadcasting days of the archives on the women’s movement, the Black movement and the anti-war movement in the US that would create tremendous interest and support of the Pacifica Archives. And make DVD and Audio recordings and send to other stations nationally and internationally to play them.

John Van Eyck - These are a truly priceless treasure and once restored need to be used in Pacific’s outreach efforts. I understand there is a plan and the preservation is happening and there is content on the web. This effort needs more funding. Share them by podcasting and tape cartridges in schools and libraries.

Joe Wanzala - Special budgetary and fundraising considerations should be made for the archives, the preservation of which have very particular and capital intensive requirements. The archives also need to be integrated into regular programming in a more routine way through live broadcasting as well as podcasting so that the archives can be more readily available as a resource.

Jim Weber - These archives have great potential to enhance History study in public schools and colleges. The only problems to resolve are the technical and financial boundaries to wide participation.

Stan Woods - To continue to support the work of the network’s archive committee. This is vital. You certainly won’t find intelligent, sympathetic interviews with Malcom X or the leaders of the San Francisco General strike in the basement of CBS Radio!

Steve Zeltzer - We need to establish a 24 hour channel on the web that would broadcast these archives and develop a schedule that could be brought into the schools and in workplaces. We could have broadcasting days of the archives on the women’s movement, the Black movement and the anti-war movement in the US that would create tremendous interest and support of the Pacifica Archives.

KPFA Staff candidates

Shahram Aghmir - Specific fundraisings may be needed to meet the cost of this undertaking. Also, considerations may be given to making these archives more readily available using new technology.

Mary Berg -

Chris Brown - We should really try and analog on tape (i.e. The masters). This is a much better way than digital and can be shared with many people over the coming years. You can always burn things onto cds and sell them, but the masters should be preserved on tape.

Brian Edwards-Tiekert - Bake them. Digitize them. Archive them. Broadcast them. Put them on the web.

Jeannine Etter - Volunteers, first off, because we need plenty, plenty hands to take the time to get audio transferred and documented.
Websites should be easily accessible for even those who are not so web-savy.

Mary Tilson –