The audiovisual collections at MSU Libraries’ are large and varied, with audio recordings from the late 1800s to modern day recordings of chicanx activism. The Gerald M. Kline Digital and Multimedia Center and the Rovi Media Collection both offer our patrons access to a wide range of commercially released material for classes, research or recreation. The vast majority of our unique content, and which we currently focus our AV preservation efforts are in the University Archives and Historical Records, the Vincent Voice Library, and Stephen O. Murray and Keelung Hong Special Collections.
University Archives & Historical Collections
University Archives & Historical Collections of Michigan State University (UAHC) are the stewards of more than 160 years of MSU history. The collections span the entirety of MSU’s history and also contain historical materials not related to MSU. UAHC has over 4,000 films, 5,000 video tapes, and 1,000 audio recordings over multiple types of formats. Materials can be viewed and heard in the UAHC Reading Room by request. For materials that are publicly available, UAHC posts them to On the Banks of the Red Cedar.
Special Collections
MSU Libraries Stephen O. Murray and Keelung Hong Collections was formally established in 1962 with the charge to house special materials, as well as to build, preserve, and make accessible important research collections for educational use.
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Today, the Murrary and Hong Special Collections holds over 10,000 unique audiovisual items across some of our notable collections: Africana Collection, José F. Treviño Chicanx/Latinx Activism Collection, LGBTQ+ Collection, Radicalism Collection, and Russel B. Nye Popular Culture Collection. All of the materials may be seen and used in the Special Collections reading room during open hours.
Vincent Voice Library
The G. Robert Vincent Voice Library is a collection of over 100,000 hours of spoken word recordings, dating back to 1888. The collection includes the voices of over 500,000 persons from all walks of life. Political and cultural leaders and minor players in the human drama are captured and cataloged to serve the research needs of a local, national and international user base. Clients include students and faculty of Michigan State University, other scholars and researchers, broadcasting networks, news agencies and film, video, and Web production companies.
“Print stands for the word, but it never is, it never can be the word itself. Only the spoken voice can bring the word fully to life.”
G. Robert Vincent