Re: [ARSCLIST] Interesting WSJ Article on when libraries should discard their holdings.

["Kiwi O'Connell" <kiwioconnell@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Indeed, how does one decide what to research & what is to be preserved.
When I was working for RNZ Sound Archives/Nga Taonga Korero, we had a rather
large collection of discs which were recorded by the Mobile Unit during
WWII.  The collection would how been 90% bigger than what it was, but years
before it reached the Archive it was dumped.  But, we had 10% of it, which
was better than nothing.

During this time every New Zealand soldier would make 'censored' recordings
back to their loved ones at home.  It was a time consuming effort, as
messages were checked for sensitive material.  They where then dispatched by
ship back to NZ.  By the time they got there, the War Department would then
check the records to see if the soldier/s was still alive.  The families of
the living soldiers were informed that there was a message from overseas and
it would be played over the wireless on a particular date.  The deceased
soldiers families were informed there was a message from their son/daughter,
and invited to hear it privately at a date that suited them.

The 10% of these recordings have been preserved and are held in the holdings
at SANTK.  I was fortunate enough to find one of my Uncles, who was serving
at the time, and distribute the contents to him and the family.  This meant
a million dollars to them (and me).  Unfortunately, my Father and other
Uncles must have been in the culled 90%.

Decisions have been made by the powers that be all over the world about
culling collections for whatever their reasons were at the time.  Let's not
make the same mistakes, but learn from it.

Marie O'Connell
Sound Archivist/Audio Engineer/Sound Consultant
3017 Nebraska Avenue
Santa Monica, CA, 90404
Ph: 310-453-1615
Fax: 310-453-1715
Mobile: 601-329-6911
www.cupsnstrings.com
 

-----Original Message-----
From: Association for Recorded Sound Discussion List
[mailto:ARSCLIST@xxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Karl Miller
Sent: Friday, January 05, 2007 8:13 AM
To: ARSCLIST@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] Interesting WSJ Article on when libraries should
discard their holdings.

RA Friedman <rafriedman@xxxxxxx> wrote:    >The value of material is usually
not known by the people who >collect it. What's has no research value now,
may have huge >potential later on.

How does one decide what might have research value in the future?
   
  Will not what is to be preserved determine what can be researched in the
future?
   
  How does one decide what to research? I remember when I was a Freshman in
music school. Our library had a truly odd assortment of sheet music. I would
scan the shelves and sight read whatever piano music I could find. I still
remember encountering first editions of the music of Leo Ornstein. I had
never seen anything like it, so I started looking into his life and works.
   
  So how many places can you find the music of EB Hill (answer, mainly two
libraries hold his manuscripts) or Emerson Whithorne, a composer who was
rather popular in his lifetime...and not a bad composer I might add...at
least in my opinion. So, I managed to get a broadcast recording of one of
the Whithorne Symphonies, and a few other things. I made a CD and placed it
in our collection...something our new director sees as being unimportant,
hence something I can no longer do. So, if you check in OCLC, the only
citation for any orchestral music of Whithorne is that one CD I made. Will
that stimulate some research, I hope so. 
   
  For me, those who preserve will, in part, determine what will and can be
researched. That is quite a responsibility.
   
  So shall I tell you of the music librarian who threw out boxes full of
rare piano music (which we didn't otherwise have) because the paper was
acidic?  and didn't bother to make photocopies...
   
  Karl