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Cage 67
William Griffin Gnaedinger
Papers, 1937-1974
The papers of
William G. Gnaedinger were deposited in the Washington State University Library
by Mr. Gnaedinger on June 28, 1974. The papers were processed by Terry Abraham
in July, 1974.
Number of containers: 2
Linear feet of shelf space: 1
Approximate number of items: 540
BIOGRAPHY
William Griffin
Gnaedinger was born in Wallace, Idaho, on October 15, 1910. In 1934 he received
a B. S. at the University of Idaho in Moscow, married Miss Irene Carlson, and
moved 25 miles south to begin a teaching career in the Lapwai public schools.
From 1936 to 1940 he was a teacher in the junior and senior high schools of
nearby Lewiston, Idaho, as well as the part-time audio-visual director. Moving
to Washington State University (then the State College of Washington) in 1940
as Director of the Audio-Visual Center, Gnaedinger was instrumental in the development
of the uses of films and other media in classroom instruction in the Pacific
Northwest. "During his years as Director of the Audio-Visual Center he
made his impact felt across the State and Nation.... The film library in the
Audio-Visual Center at Washington State not only was first in the State in the
establishment of many patterns of operation, it still is a leader.... And the
relationship between the Audio-Visual Center as a service function on campus
and in the training of teachers and media specialists in the Department of Education
is unequaled in the State." (Richard L. Hawk. "Personalities in
Washington: William G. Gnaedinger," Resources
for Teaching and Learning, 7:2 (Winter 1971: 22.)
During this
period as Director of the Audio-Visual Center, Gnaedinger was also active in
several professional organizations. "He is one of the 'founding fathers'
of WDAVI [Washington Department of Audio Visual Instruction], and his contributions
to that organization are extensive. He was executive secretary from 1950
through 1954, and was President twice (1941 and 1964)." (Hawk, 22) In
addition, from 1962 to 1965 he was on the Executive Board of the National
Education Association's Division of Audio Visual Instruction (DAVI).
Following his
long tenure as Director of the Audio-Visual Center, Gnaedinger moved into
library administration, a situation only possible where audio-visual activities
are coordinated within the library. In his job as Associate Director of Libraries
at WSU he has moved on to bigger budgets, staffs, and programs to develop. In
his present capacity he is able to employ all the years of experience he gained
as an audiovisual administrator to help run the ever-enlarging and developing
library program, including the Audio-Visual Center." (Hawk, 25) After
serving as the Associate Director of the WSU Libraries since 1965, Gnaedinger
retired on July 1, 1974, and was awarded the title Associate Director Emeritus
of Libraries in recognition of his many contributions to the University
community and to education in general.
ARRANGEMENT AND DESCRIPTION
The papers of
William G. Gnaedinger consist of that portion of his office files which could
be considered both personal and professional. According to Gnaedinger his files
were completely purged in 1965 when he moved from the Audio-Visual Center to
his new position as Associate Director of Libraries.
The papers
consist of three major series: that dealing with audio-visual education in the
WSU Department of Education, and those dealing with the national and state
audiovisual organizations: DAVI and WDAVI. Correspondence, memoranda, notes on
committees and other activities of the two organizations are represented. Also
included are Gnaedinger's contributions to the history of the two
organizations, especially his "A History of the Washington Department of
Audio-Visual Instruction, NEA."
Additionally,
there is a file of general correspondence, primarily of the kind considered
both personal and professional; a file on his Fulbright teaching grant to Norway,
1954-1955; and a folder of correspondence and drafts of articles for the 1973
and 1974 Bowker Educational Media Yearbook. A partial file of Gnaedinger's
published articles and unpublished speeches and addresses before various groups
provide a picture of his professional concerns from his earliest days as an
audio-visual administrator.
CONTAINER LIST
| Box | Folder | Description |
|
Series 1: General Correspondence, 1954-1974 |
||
| 1 | 1-2 | Correspondence: personal and professional (approximately 100 items), 1965-1974. |
| 3 | Norge--I. Millar. Correspondence and other papers concerning Fulbright teaching grant to the University of Oslo (18 items), 1954-1959. | |
| 4 | Bowker Educational Media Yearbook. Correspondence and manuscript notes and drafts of articles in Bowker annual 1973, 1974, on film rental libraries (55 items), 1972-1974. | |
| 5 | Annual Review. Correspondence, primarily letters of appreciation (28 items), 1955-1965. | |
| 6 | St. James Episcopal Church. List of members, 1963. | |
|
Series 2: Washington State University Department of Education, 1957-1967 |
||
| 7 | Staff meetings. Minutes (24 items), 1964-1965. | |
| 8 | Audio-visual courses. Course outlines, proposals and bibliographies (20 items), 1957-1964. | |
| 9 | Miscellaneous administrative matters. Memoranda and other papers concerning audio-visual instruction (10 items), 1964-1971. | |
| 10 | New media programs. Correspondence and research proposals concerning A-V instruction (16 items), 1962-1967. | |
| 11 | New media seminar. Memoranda and course announcements (8 items), 1963-1966. | |
| 12 | Phi Delta Kappa Distinguished Educator Award Committee. Letters from Lloyd Olsen regarding chairmanship of the committee (2 items), 1967. | |
|
Series 3: Washington Division of Audio-Visual Instruction, 1959-1973 |
||
| 13 | WDAVI-WSASL Consolidation Study. Correspondence, minutes, and other papers (39 items), 1971-1972. | |
| 14 | WDAVI history. "A History of the Washington Department of Audio-Visual Instruction, NEA." Chapter One (1960), Chapter Two (1964), Chapter Three (1973) (11 items). | |
| 2 | 15 | Audio-Visual history and development. "Washington's Audio-Visual Story--A Status Report." Washington Education 70:7 (April 1959:10-11). Also correspondence, drafts and articles (7 items), 1959. |
|
Series 4: Division of Audio-Visual Instruction, NEA, 1957-1972 |
||
| 16 | DAVI: Current matters. Correspondence, notes, drafts, rosters, minutes and other papers (31 items), 1957-1966. | |
| 17-18 | DAVI: self evaluation project. Correspondence, minutes and other papers (83 items), 1955-1965. | |
| 19 | DAVI: Archives and History Commission. Correspondence, minutes and other papers (32 items), 1963-1972. | |
| 20 | Pocatello: Lyle Wright. Correspondence and report on "Recommendations for a Southeastern Idaho Learning Resources Center" by W. G. Gnaedinger and G. M. Torkelson, (Pocatello, 1966) as DAVI consultants (11 items), 1966. | |
|
Series 5: Publications, 1937-1971 |
||
| 21-23 | Publications: Manuscripts and printed articles, speeches, and addresses (35 items), 1937-1971. |