About Special Collections

The Special Collections Department is the largest project supported by the Thousand Oaks Library Foundation. It includes a Local History collection, a Book Arts collection, and most particularly, the American Radio Archives. The special collections include:

• Manuscripts and personal papers from members of Conejo Valley founding families and radio broadcasting luminaries

• Over 35,000 radio and television scripts from the 1900s to the 1980s

• 200 maps and charts of historic Conejo Valley

• 50 oral history tapes from local pioneers

• 115,000 photographs of Conejo Valley history, and broadcasting personalities

• Over 20,000 audio recordings from famous radio broadcasts and programs aired in the early days of radio

Trustees of the Thousand Oaks Library Foundation actively pursue the acquisition of collections from early radio personalities. The Thousand Oaks Library holds one of the largest collections of radio archives in the world.