Special Collections

ACTION
FOR
CHILDREN'S
TELEVISION

The ACT Collection documents the work of Action for Children's Television (ACT), a national grassroots organization founded by Peggy Charren in Newtonville, Massachusetts in 1968. ACT aimed to ensure quality and diversity in television programming for children and adolescents and to eliminate commercial abuses directed at children. The work of this organization, which had thousands of members across the United States, had a major impact on the content and scheduling of children's television programs and advertising, culminating in the passage of the Children's Television Act of 1990, for which ACT lobbied vigorously.

Peggy Charren, founder of ACT and donor of the ACT Collection in Gutman Library
Photo: Jane Reed/Harvard
News Office, January 8, 1992

The ACT Collection comprises over 1,000 linear feet of materials. In addition to the complete office records of the organization and a comprehensive collection of ACT's publications, the following materials are included in the collection:

• research reports on children's television, many of them sponsored by ACT
• FCC and FTC reports, and other government documents relating to children's TV
• legal documents relating to court cases brought by ACT or in which ACT members testified
• the contents of ACT's reference library, including extensive subject files, collections of news and magazine articles, clippings documenting ACT's work, and files on individual television programs
• over 1,400 videotapes of children's programs, public service announcements, and commercials, many of which were recorded by ACT staff to document examples of positive and negative programming or advertising; included are programs nominated for awards by ACT

Although the organization was formally disbanded in 1992, the indefatigable Ms. Charren has continued her lobbying, testifying, and service on Presidential commissions and national committees. She continues to donate materials to Gutman Library documenting her work. Recently, the ACT Collection at Gutman Library was further enhanced by a donation from the Disney Channel of hundreds of hours of videotapes, including original Disney Channel productions, Disney films, and home videos. Ms. Charren has received many honors and awards; most recently, the First Annual KIDSNET Lamb Chop Award was presented to her in June 2000, in recognition of her tireless commitment to children's media.

The ACT Collection is represented by an archival description in the HOLLIS Catalog. In addition, there are in-house findings aids to the collection, including ACT's own manual card catalog and subject heading list, as well as a computerized listing of the videotape collection. Access to this collection requires an appointment; please contact the Special Collections Librarian to schedule a visit.

Other Resources on Children's Television

• KIDSNET
• National Public Broadcasting Archives
• Mister Rogers' Neighborhood Archives (University of Pittsburgh)
• American Center for Children's Television
• Prix Jeunesse
• Museum of Broadcast Communications
• Museum of Television and Radio, New York and Los Angeles