Amherst College WAMH/WAMF Records
Scope and Contents
This collection consists of the records of the Amherst College student radio station, WAMH (formerly WAMF). The records include audio recordings, publicity materials, program guides, correspondence, photographs, training materials, FCC materials and internal documentation of radio station operations. In documenting the operations of the radio station, the collection also documents the role that radio broadcasting played on campus for news and entertainment as well as providing audio documentation of particular events captured in recorded broadcasts. The records are incomplete and contain significantly varied richness of documentation for different time periods with some complete gaps.
Dates
- 1948-2020
Creator
- WAMH (Radio station : Amherst, Mass.) (Organization)
Conditions Governing Access
There are limited restrictions on access to the collection for research use as noted at the folder level. All original audio tapes are restricted for preservation purposes; the recordings are available digitally.
Conditions Governing Use
Requests for permission to publish material from the collection should be directed to the Archives and Special Collections. It is the responsibility of the researcher to identify and satisfy the holders of all copyrights.
Biographical / Historical
Amherst College has had a student radio station since 1948. For the first ten years, the station operated on AM frequencies until increasing interference prompted a move to FM. In 1955, WAMF began broadcasting at 89.5 FM from a transmitter in the tower of Walker Hall. Individual FM to AM converters were installed in each dormitory and fraternity to allow students with AM radios to continue to recieve the station. With the imminent destruction of Walker Hall to make way for Frost Library, the transmitter was moved to Stearns Tower in 1962. In pursuit of increased broadcasting power, the station constructed a new transmitting tower on the top of Mt. Lincoln in the years from 1971 to 1976. In the course of this process, the station's call letters changed from WAMF to WAMH in 1971 and its broadcast frequency changed from 89.5 to 89.3 in 1972. The station continues broadcasting at these call letters and frequency.
Extent
8 Linear feet (7 record boxes, 1 oversize flat box, 1 mapcase file)
8.47 Gigabytes (19 audio files)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Records of the Amherst College student radio station, WAMH (formerly WAMF). Records include audio recordings, publicity materials, program guides, correspondence, photographs, training materials, FCC materials and internal documentation of radio station operations.
Arrangement
The collection is organized into five series:
- Series 1: General
- Series 2: Training Materials
- Series 3: Governance and Internal Files
- Series 4: FCC and Technical Materials
- Series 5: Audio Recordings
Processing Information
This collection was processed in 2015 and re-processed in 2019-2021. Material was gathered from multiple accessions and joined to form this collection. Folders were arranged into a new order but as much as possible folder titles and contents were not changed. Some folder titles were changed when the original was misleading or entirely inaccurate. Multiple new donations of material were received following the processing of the collection and were integrated along with material removed from the Amherst College Clubs and Societies Collection during re-processing in 2019-2021.
- Amherst College -- Students Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- College radio stations Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Radio Broadcasting Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Student activities Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
Source
- WAMH (Radio station : Amherst, Mass.) (Organization)
- Author
- Mariah Leavitt
- Date
- 2015 August, 2021 May
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Amherst College Archives and Special Collections Repository
Amherst College Archives & Special Collections
Robert Frost Library
61 Quadrangle Drive
Amherst MA 01002-5000
(413) 542-2299
archives@amherst.edu