New York Zoological Society. Department of Education. Audio-Visual Office records

This collection consists mainly of the records of the New York Zoological Society (NYZS)'s Department of Education under Curator Herbert J. Knobloch (1947-1971). It also includes additional materials from other departments, divisions, and general staff involved in the provision of NYZS audio-visual media services from the 1940s to the 1980s. This includes materials from the Department of Publications while headed by William Bridges (Editor and Curator of Publications, 1935-1966). In some cases the files appear to be of mixed provenance. It appears that the records produced by the Department of Education under Curator Herbert J. Knobloch, as well as those materials produced by other departments, divisions and staff with an audio-visual services function, were inherited by the predecessors to the Media Services Department in the Division of Public Affairs (such as the Department of Publications), which as of the early 21st century provides NYZS's media audio-visual services. The collection largely documents the production of the Society's annual meetings, and in particular the production of the motion picture programs shown at these events.

The bulk of the collection consists of draft and final versions of scripts produced for films previewed during the Society's annual meetings. Shot notes and annotations are present on many of the scripts and provide complementary evidence of production activity. In some cases, there is a small amount of additional associated production material, such as shot lists, planning and production notes, correspondence, and memoranda. The materials document various aspects of the Society's activities, including zoological and wildlife research, zoo education work, and conservation efforts conducted by animal curatorial departments at the Bronx Zoo and New York Aquarium. Additionally, the films document NYZS research institutes and field stations such as the Department of Tropical Research (1923-1965) and the Institute for Research in Animal Behavior (1966-1972). Other affiliated organizations, such as the Conservation Foundation (1948-1968) and the Jackson Hole Biological Research Station (1947-1976), are also represented here. The films’ subjects include animal programs in mammalogy, ornithology, and herpetology; Society research expeditions; studies in animal behaviour and health; and annual or seasonal news from park, aquarium, and research station facilities. Other zoological educational films were geared towards inspiring and educating the next generation of young zoologists, naturalists, and conservationists.

The records also include a small amount of material documenting the Society's film collection up to the early 1940s: an index, report, and proposal resulting from a collection-wide survey conducted by the outside consultant firm the Film Associates Inc. The index contains item-level information on specific films including content descriptions, production notes, producer, footage, production dates, condition, and the location where the films were housed. The index also contains later annotations by NYZS staff. The proposal includes recommendations to the Society for future directions, including the production, distribution, and use and care of the motion picture film collection.

Finally, the collection includes general production and administrative records created during the 1940s through the 1980s relating to the Society's audio-visual services, film and media collection, and annual meetings. The bulk of these records date from the 1970s and 1980s and contain materials produced by Education Department supervisory audio-visual services staff. These records include correspondence files and event production records. Correspondence files include correspondence, memoranda, meeting minutes, reports, proposals, scripts, work orders, requisition forms, notes, and printed materials that relate to the administration of NYZS audio-visual services. Event production records relate primarily to the Society's annual meetings and include correspondence, schedules, film and overall event scripts, speeches, cue sheets, shot lists, memoranda, and notes. There are also files for other film and media projects; these include film scripts, correspondence, memoranda, notes, and a contract. These film and media project files relate to a number of productions from the 1940s through the 1980s, including additional annual meeting films, the television production "Animal World,” and the World of the Darkness exhibit at the Bronx Zoo.

Senior staff represented in this collection include William Bridges (Editor and Curator of Publications, 1935-1966), Sam Dunton (Staff Photographer, circa 1940s-1974), and Herbert Knobloch (Curator of Education, 1947-1971), who all played key roles in the production and presentation of annual meeting film productions. Education Department Audio-Visual Services Office supervisory staff Fred Biolchini and Robert Haber, who were active in the 1970s and 1980s, are also represented in the materials.