Collections

The following is a list of all sound recording collections open for research at the Kennedy Library – with links to finding aids, collection overviews, and digitized content where available.

A growing number of sound recordings has been digitized and may be browsed from this page: browse digital collections, or browsed below by collection, where you'll find selected links to digitized materials. See also our online media galleries, which feature audiovisual materials by topic.

For more information please contact JFK.AVarchives@nara.gov or 617.514.1622. Have a research question? Ask an Archivist!

NLK 93-C52:29 (crop): John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston, 15 November 1993

John F. Kennedy Library Photographs and Recordings

Comprised of sound recordings of events hosted by the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. 1968-2005. (See also Photographic Images and Moving Images for descriptions of the collection's photographic and moving image materials.)

JFKWHP-ST-120-42-61 (crop): White House Army Signal Agency (WHASA) Staff Member, Harold D. Haley, Prepares for President John F. Kennedy’s Arrival in Ottawa, Canada, 1961: May 14-16

Miscellaneous Recordings (MR)

Comprised of sound recordings that were donated to the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library by a variety of sources, on a wide range of topics. c. 1910-present. Also included are sound recordings from various collections of personal papers.

JFKWHP-ST-50-8-62 (crop): Preparations for Recorded Remarks for the Annual Appeal for the American Red Cross, 22 February 1962

Presidential Recordings

Part of the John F. Kennedy Presidential Papers - President's Office Files, the Presidential Recordings document telephone conversations and meetings that President Kennedy secretly recorded during his administration. A later addition to the collection included dictation belts that pre-dated the presidency. c.1959-1963. POF finding aid | Digitized Presidential Recordings

BB1245A:30(30A) (crop): Robert F. Kennedy Campaigns for U.S. Senate, 1964 (C) Burton Berinsky

Robert F. Kennedy Audio Recordings (RFK Audio)

Comprised of sound recordings from the Robert F. Kennedy Papers, focusing primarily on speeches and appearances by Robert F. Kennedy as U.S. Attorney General, senatorial candidate, U.S. Senator from New York, and 1968 presidential candidate. 1955-1968.

BB258L:11 (crop): Senator John F. Kennedy during a Presidential Campaign Trip, Norristown, Pennsylvania, 29 October 1960 (C) Burton Berinsky

Victoria Schuck Collection

Comprised  primarily of sound recordings from presidential campaigns, along with other political speeches and appearances. Offers coverage of Dwight D. Eisenhower, Richard M. Nixon, Barry Goldwater, William Miller, Adlai E. Stevenson, John Sparkman, Estes Kefauver, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Hubert H. Humphrey. 1950-1969. (See also Victoria Schuck Collection moving images.)

JFKWHP-ST-41-14-61 (crop): White House Army Signal Agency Staff (WHASA) and Equipment at President John F. Kennedy's Estate, Glen Ora (Middleburg, Virginia), 2 March 1961

White House Audio Collection (WH)

The White House Army Signal Agency, which became the White House Communications Agency in 1962, recorded the public statements made by President Kennedy at the White House and during the President’s travels in the United States and abroad. This collection includes recordings of the President’s speeches, press conferences, statements, and special messages. 1961-1963. Collection overview | Finding aid | Digitized WH recordings 
(See also United States Army Signal Corps Photograph Collection.)