Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood is on display in a big way at the University of Pittsburgh. The Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood Archives contains correspondence, scripts, props, puppets, fan mail, over 900 videotapes, and scholarly articles that show the cultural impact of Fred Rogers’ work. Rogers started his career at Pittsburgh public TV station WQED and went on to win four Emmys and raised the self esteem of hundreds of thousands of children. The collection is on display at the Elizabeth Nesbitt Room, Information Sciences Library, University of Pittsburgh.
Here’s an interesting aside: did you know that Rogers was a key player in the famous Betamax Supreme Court case? According to Wikipedia, Rogers gave important testimony supporting the manufacturers of VCRs in the landmark case. He testified that he did not object to home recording of his television programs, for instance, by families in order to watch together at a later time. This went against many in the television industry who objected to home recording or believed that devices to facilitate it should be taxed or regulated. The Supreme Court stated that Rogers’ views were a notable piece of evidence "that many [television] producers are willing to allow private time-shifting to continue;" and even quoted his testimony in a footnote to the decision.
