WHQR is proud to announce our partnership with UNCW in preserving 40 years of our stations history, by providing access to our rich archive of radio programming dating back to the mid-1980s.
The Center for Southeast NC Archives and History (CSENCAH) has established a custodial agreement with WHQR for their archives.
The center, formally established within Randall Library in 2020, preserves the history of the Lower Cape Fear Region and beyond through special collections and university archives available to faculty, staff, students and the community.
“Randall Library’s Center for Southeast North Carolina Archives and History is thrilled to partner with WHQR to provide access to their rich archive of radio programming dating back to the mid-1980s. This partnership furthers the mission of the center to connect the people and communities of southeast North Carolina to the sources of their history, society and culture,” said Rebecca Baugnon, interim associate director of CSENCAH and special collections librarian. “Through programs such as CoastLine and Sounds Local, as well as commentaries on cultural, environmental and political topics, researchers and the public at large will soon be able to (re)discover and explore an incredible body of work produced by WHQR over the years.”
“As we planned to celebrate WHQR’s 40th anniversary this year, we realized that we were in danger of losing many of our recordings to the ravages of time to the various formats they were on, especially the earliest ones. We set out to preserve them through digitization,” said Kevin Crane, station manager at WHQR. “We’re thrilled that the Randall Library will become the home of these treasures, and that they will be available to residents of the Cape Fear region for years to come.”
With high praise, Crane credits much of the man hours needed to catalogue and digitize the archive to Classical Music Director Pat Marriott and Classical Host Jemila Ericson.
“WHQR has a long legacy of producing rich local news content. Randall Library is honored to partner with WHQR to make their programming accessible to local and national researchers alike,” said Lucy Holman, associate provost and dean of the library. “The WHQR Archives, in addition to existing collections, will provide our community with a robust collection of local and regional news from southeast North Carolina."
Other similar collections include the WWAY Television News Archive, the StarNews Image Archive, the Columbus County News Reporter and the State Port Pilot. Together, these collections provide a wealth of resources documenting the second half of the twentieth century in the region.
To access the WHQR collection and others held in the center, visit Randall Library when it reopens its doors in mid-August. CSENCAH will be open to the public Monday through Friday, 10 a.m.- 2 p.m. Researchers can also receive remote reference assistance by e-mailing csencah@uncw.edu.