WBAR Radio Records, 1992-2023

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Collection context

Creator:
WBAR. Barnard College Radio
Abstract:
This collection consists of materials from WBAR, the Barnard College radio station.
Extent:
17.30 Linear Feet (1 document box, 1 half document box, 3 custom sized boxes, 1 photo binder. 4 oversized flat file folders) and 0.18 Gigabytes (158 files)
Language:
English .
Scope and content:

Most of the materials represented are from the late 1990s to mid 2010s. The records include training documents; foundational documents, such as a club charter and constitution; administrative materials like meeting minutes, agendas, event budgets and event planning, programming notes, alum rosters; and event ephemera, such as posters, photography, flyers, and invitations.

This collection also contains hundreds of photographs from WBAR events such as WBAR-B-Q, Winter Formal, and miscellaneous events. Included with the photographs are also minidiscs and computer disks (CDs). All the photographs on the computer disks have been transferred off and are noted as digital objects within subseries 2.3 Digitized Images.

Series 1: Administrative Materials, 1993-2023, undated contains materials related to the administration of WBAR Radio including correspondence, various meeting minutes and agendas, operational documents training DJs how to work the radio station equipment, and foundational documents like the club charter and club constitution.

Series 2: Event materials, event ephemera, and photographs, 1993-2010s, undated contains event-related materials like posters, fliers, invitations, photographs, and ephemera about WBAR-sponsored events. Some of the recurring events include the WBAR-B-Q and Winter Formal.

Biographical / historical:

WBAR Barnard College Radio (WBAR) was established in 1993 by Jen Small '93, Heather Willihnganz '92, and Susan Leff '92. At the time of their proposal to the Student Government Association (SGA) in 1991, Barnard College was the only one of the Seven Siblings without its own radio station. WBAR is a non-profit, non-commercial radio station which serves the Barnard College and Columbia University community.

According to their own website, "WBAR staff members get trained in the basics of broadcasting, music programming, event planning, and are encouraged to explore diverse music tastes which reflect the DJ's differing opinions and backgrounds. WBAR's commitment to a multiplicity of viewpoints and opinions is the heart of WBAR''(WBAR website, February 2024).

In October 1993, WBAR originally broadcasted to only Barnard and Columbia students from the McIntosh building using existing AM cables because the buildings were not properly wired to carry the station yet. Students would dial AM frequency 640 to listen within their dorms. By April 1993, WBAR officially went live on FM radio channel 87.9, where Barnard students could listen in their dorms. In 1998, WBAR acquired AM frequency 160 in addition to its FM channel to widen their audience. By 1999, WBAR was broadcasting online, widening its reach internationally. Since around 2007, WBAR left FM radio and broadcasts exclusively online which is why they are not regulated by the FCC. According to their own website, WBAR currently has 77 shows and around 100 DJs who broadcast online 22 hours a day without limits on what they can play (WBAR website, March 2024). Some of WBAR's major events include WBAR-B-Q, an annual spring outdoor concert, and the Winter Formal concert, which happens every December.

Access and use

Restrictions:

This collection has no restrictions.

Terms of access:

Permission to publish material from the collection must be requested from the Barnard Archives and Special Collections. The Barnard Archives and Special Collections approves permission to publish that which it physically owns; the responsibility to secure copyright permission rests with the patron.

Photocopies or scans may be made for research purposes.

Preferred citation:

WBAR Radio Records, 1992-2023, undated; Box and Folder; Barnard Archives and Special Collections, Barnard Library, Barnard College.

Location of this collection:
Milstein Center for Teaching and Learning 423
Barnard College
3009 Broadway
New York, NY 10027, USA
Before you visit:
Please contact archives@barnard.edu with research requests or to schedule a visit; see our website for more information.
Contact:
archives@barnard.edu