Johnson, Lyndon B. (1908-1973.) Film Collection, 1958-1969. Special Collections Department/Long Island Studies Institute Contact Information: Special Collections Department Axinn Library, Room 032 123 Hofstra University Hempstead, NY 11549 Phone: (516) 463-6411, or 463-6404 Fax: (516) 463-6442 E-mail:
[email protected] http://www.hofstra.edu/Libraries/SpecialCollections FILMING LBJ: A SPECIAL COLLECTION FROM WHITE HOUSE NAVAL PHOTOGRAPHER COMMANDER THOMAS ATKINS, 1963-1969 The Lyndon B. Johnson presidency is unique in its collection of recordings of the chief executive’s activities. In the 1960s, the White House Naval Photographic Unit (NPC) began producing films that highlighted special presidential trips, visits, and events. Commander Thomas Atkins produced these films for the NPC, starting in 1963 in the John F. Kennedy administration and continuing through the Johnson years. About 43 of the 70+ films are available for viewing on the Lyndon B. Johnson Library’s YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL853F6EAB74B64D1D . Hofstra University’s Peter S. Kalikow Center for the Study of the American Presidency has a full digitized set of the Atkins films, which are available for research in the Joan and Donald E. Axinn Library’s Special Collections room. In the summer of 2013, Ms. Nancy Lindemeyer (who, along with her husband, Robert Lindemeyer, served with Commander Atkins in the Navy) contacted Hofstra on behalf of the Atkins family to see if the Kalikow Center might be a suitable repository for the collection. Thanks to the generosity of the Atkins family and the cheerful, unstinting efforts of the Lindemeyers, the original 16 mm films were transferred to DVDs and became part of Hofstra’s holdings in 2015.