The Archives has many decades, back to 1949, of audio tapes, films, videos, and photographs
of Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) activities, including, of course, a great deal of
material about Dr. Graham. These materials are for the most part from various evangelistic meetings,
but also include special events, such as press conferences, religious congresses, meetings with
presidents, world leaders, and other famous people.
Many people contact the Archives because they want to use the audio/visual materials deposited here. Researchers should be aware that most of the material described on this page is the property of the BGEA and requires their written permission to be used. Forms for requesting such permission are available in the Reading Room of the Archives. Also be aware that if current items are desired, do not contact the Archives. The procedures for borrowing materials are:
Step 1: Visit the Archives to find out specifically what you want to borrow.
Step 2: Get permission from the BGEA using the form provided by the Archives.
Step 3: After permission is received, follow through on the procedures for borrowing the
materials. Click here to see
a copy of those procedures.
Audio/visual materials are scattered in many different collections and so the researcher will need
to search extensively to find all that is available on a particular subject. Listed below are
collections which contain most of the materials on Dr. Graham but many other collections also
contain information about him. Click here
to see a more comprehensive list of these collections. Also be aware that most of these collections are not
current--most of the materials here are at least ten years old.
Click here to go to the guide for Collection 17: Records of the BGEA: Vice President of Crusade
Organization and Team Activities, which contains thousands of photographs from various
crusades and other activities.
Click here
to go to the guide for Collection 26: Records of BGEA: Audio Tapes, which has thousands of
audio tapes from crusades and other meetings and events.
Click here to go to the guide for Collection 54: Records of Walter F. Bennett and Company, which has many films and video tapes.
Click here
to go to the guide for Collection 74: Billy Graham Collection, which includes videos, mostly clips
from news program interviews and commentary, as well as some photos.
Click here
to go to the guide for Collection 113: Records of BGEA: Films and Video Tapes, which contains
hundreds of films and video tapes.
Click here
to go to the guide for Collection 191: Records of BGEA: Hour of Decision Audio Tapes, with
thousands of the "Hour of Decision" radio program since its inception in the 1950s.
Click here
to go to the guide for Collection 214: BGEA: World Wide Pictures, Inc., which has dozens of films,
many of which are feature films built around a Billy Graham Crusade.
Please be aware that the purpose of this page is to provide information on some of the most relevant Archives holdings relating to this often-asked question. Because of staff and time limitations, the BGC archivists can spend no more than a half-hour helping an individual researcher; we have to focus our efforts on gathering the material and making it available. In order to find all the materials in the Archives on this particular topic, you will need to personally go through the guides to the various Archives collections available at this Web site and in the Archives Reading Room in the Billy Graham Center building in Wheaton, Illinois. If your request will take longer than the half hour we can provide, you will either need to come to the Archives yourself to do the necessary research in our collections, arrange for someone to come and do the research for you, or pay to use the Archives' research services.
You can also do further independent searching of the online database to explore what the Archives has on a wide variety of subjects. You will find only a very small sampling of the Archives actual documents on this Web site. Most of our Web pages only describe what is at the Archives in Wheaton. In most cases you must visit the Archives to use our collections, unless a collection (or portion of it) is available through inter-library loan or as a short-term loan for a fee. You may also find it helpful to visit Wheaton College's online catalog to its libraries and archives (including the Billy Graham Center Archives).