Indiana School of the Sky records, 1947-1964

Summary

Creator:
Indiana school of the sky (Radio program)
Abstract:
The Indiana School of the Sky radio program of the Indiana University Department of Radio and Television began broadcasting educational radio programs in 1947 and continued through the early 1960s. The program reached schools throughout Indiana and nearby states and led to new course offerings at IU. Indiana University students performed in the radio programs originally intended for children ages 4-8 aired for 15 minutes during each school day. Eventually the popularity of the programs called for high school programming as well, and later adults also tuned into the programs. This collection includes many of the scripts and the teaching manuals for the programs.
Extent:
3.4 cubic feet (4 boxes)
Language:
Materials are in English
Preferred citation:

[item], Indiana School of the Sky records, Collection C643, Indiana University Archives, Bloomington.

Background

Administrative History:

The Indiana School of the Sky radio program was created by the Indiana University Department of Radio and Television. Between 1947 and the early 1960s, Indiana University's School of the Sky, in cooperation with regional radio stations and the Indiana Department of Education, broadcasted educational programs to thousands of classrooms in Indiana and nearby states during each school day. The programs originally focused on several topical series including Music, Social Studies, Art, Science, and The Story Book. Each program aired on a different day of the school week for fifteen minutes. As the radio show expanded the lineup eventually added programs including the "Books Series," the "Children's Workshop," the "Guidance Series," the "History Series," the "How it Happened Series," the "Library Series," the "Literature Series," the "Music Series," the "News Review Series," the "News Series," the "Patterns of Living Series," the "Science Series," and the "Social Studies Series." The programs were performed by Indiana University students and eventually reached listeners across the country. The success of the program and its growth lead to new course offerings in radio and television at IU and an advanced radio broadcasting station at the university.

Scope and Content Note:

This collection consists of two series: Scripts (1947-1962) and Teaching manuals (1947-1964). The collection is incomplete and does not contain every volume of scripts for every radio program series or every teaching manual for each year.

The first series, the Scripts (1947-1962), consists of bound volumes containing detailed radio show scripts for many of the radio programs. These programs are organized by the different "series" of topics which the School of the Sky used to focus on several themes aimed at a younger audience.

The volumes of scripts provide a detailed outline of how the different radio shows were performed and show the topics the program found relevant at the time. Several of the radio programs such as the "Literature Series," the "Library Series," the "Music Series," and the "Science Series" introduce listeners to famous authors, musicians, and scientists. Other programs including the "Guidance Series" and the "Patterns of Living Series" introduced listeners to the issues they would face as they matured. And other programs such as the "History Series," the "News" and "How It Happened Series" covered both historical and current world events.

The second series in this collection, Teaching manuals (1947-1964), consists of published manuals distributed to teachers. The manuals include detailed program descriptions for the academic year, programming schedules, as well as information about production staff and advisory committees.

Acquisition information:
Accessions: 2016/097, 2017/004
Provenance:

Scripts transferred from the IU Libraries circulating collection.

Processing Information:

Processed by Laura Bell

Completed in 2016

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged into two series: Scripts and Teaching manuals. Each series is arranged chronologically.

Access and use

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research. Advance notice required.

Terms of access:

Copyrights for records originating with Indiana University administrative units, departments, and other offices are held by the Trustees of Indiana University. For more information, please contact the Indiana University Archives staff.

The Indiana University Archives respects the intellectual property rights of others and does not claim any copyrights for non-university records, materials in the public domain, or materials for which we do not hold a Deed of Gift. Responsibility for the determination of the copyright status of these materials rests with those persons wishing to reuse the materials. Researchers are responsible for securing permission from copyright owners and any other rights holders for any reuse of these materials that extends beyond fair use or other statutory limitations.

Digital reproductions of archival materials from the Indiana University Archives are made available for noncommercial educational and research purposes only. If you are the copyright holder for any of the digitized materials and have questions about its inclusion on our site, please contact the Indiana University Archives staff.

Preferred citation:

[item], Indiana School of the Sky records, Collection C643, Indiana University Archives, Bloomington.

Location of this collection:
Herman B Wells Library E460
1320 East Tenth Street
Bloomington, Indiana 47405-7000, United States
Visit the University Archives
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Campus:
Indiana University Bloomington
Contact:
812-855-1127
archives@iu.edu