​​​​Our mission is to encourage individuals and stations to preserve their histories, with a focus on local stations and their community roots.

​

Examples of strong local archives include Maryland Public Television, KNME in New Mexico, and several state networks. National initiatives play a vital role as well: the American Archive of Public Broadcasting (AAPB) at the Library of Congress, the NPR Archives at the University of Maryland, the original National Archives of Public Broadcasting (NAPB), the Henry Hampton Collection at Washington University, the NATAS TV Professionals Video Archives, and the NAEB Archives at the University of Wisconsin.

​

While these collections are invaluable, the local station or state system is often the most natural repository, given its knowledge of the people, events, and places involved. Most archives today focus on digitized materials for public access; physical items such as Emmys or cameras are rarely accepted. Hence, the local archive is natural depository for such memorabilia. Last, given the internet all archives will be interconnected eventually.