First Television Station in Baltimore

In 1956, 2” Quad became the first videotape format with commercial success. From that point until the late 1970s, this video format was used to record the vast majority of broadcast television. The playback equipment needed to view 2” Quad tape is Continue reading First Television Station in Baltimore

Be Kind, Rewind: Putting Endangered Collections First

Quad Tape, soon to appear at a nonprofit regional archive near you. Tick-tock! Time is running out for videophiles to enjoy the glitchy, retro pleasures of analog media. Last year, the last videocassette recorder (VCR) was manufactured in Japan, and Continue reading Be Kind, Rewind: Putting Endangered Collections First

The Soul of Baltimore

As mentioned in a previous blog post, the WJZ-TV and WMAR-TV Collections at the Langsdale Library hold approximately three hundred 2-inch Quad reels that are in need of digitization to preserve their unique audiovisual content. One of these reels was digitized recently Continue reading The Soul of Baltimore

Finding AV in Special Collections

There have been a few blog posts written before about the WMAR-TV and WJZ-TV Collections, but today I would like to discuss the process of actually finding and accessing an AV item that is requested. First, how might researchers even Continue reading Finding AV in Special Collections

Space, Size, and Videotapes

The Langsdale Library Special Collections Department has finished our move from the library’s previous building to our current location in the University of Baltimore’s Learning Commons. We were scheduled after the rest of the library and took over twice as Continue reading Space, Size, and Videotapes

Digital Video – at Langsdale and from the White House

I’ve been thinking a lot about digital video the last few days. My new graduate assistant, Antoinette Woods, will be starting work at Langsdale next week, and her job will be to create short, original videos for the library. These Continue reading Digital Video – at Langsdale and from the White House