The papers of James Carnes not only explain activities at the David Sarnoff Research Center (DSRC) affecting the original mission of the company as it evolved in the 1980s, but also alludes to the sale of RCA to General Electric, and the subsequent break up of RCA's various operations. The DSRC was donated to SRI International and had to adjust to competing with other research companies for contracts.

James Carnes led the David Sarnoff Research Center into the twenty-first century. His past focus on television as a scientist bode well for the DSRC as he helped develop high definition television and worked to produce wide screen technology. Carnes's papers allude to how the labs retooled to accommodate the company's new focus.

The photographic portion of this collection contains 35mm color slides as well as a few black and white photographs. These show presentation material about digital video interactive technology (DVI), CD Rom and AC-TV, as well as material from various units including the Consumer Electronics and Information Sciences Division, the Manufacturing and Materials Research Division, and the Consumer Software and Software Technology Research Groups.

Twelve of his lab notebooks (1966-1986) can be found in Record group 26.