All I know is what I read in my mail from the Dirctor of Collection Management Services:

"We have not collected recordings, and unfortunately we do not plan to do so."

Alas, I guess we have another case of "Define _____" ....... in this case "Recordings" :))

It appears from Jay's EMail, that indeed some folks in the Library of Virginia are running an extensive (rogue?) program of collecting Virginia audio media :))  Seriously, such collection is exactly what I had hoped was going on out there.  The next step will be to make the information available in a data base to facilitate retrieval of the fact a recording exists, regardless of where it is.  And of course the next step beyond that is to put up short excerpts as MP3 files.  Having just done a couple myself, 17 seconds = about 150KB, which is acceptable even to those of us in the boonies whose only access to 21st century Internet is 22KB dial up.  

Randy Cabell


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Gregg Kimball" <[log in to unmask]>
To: "Randy Cabell" <[log in to unmask]>; <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, September 16, 2004 3:01 PM
Subject: RE: The musical sounds of Virginia.


> 
> Dear Randy and Va-Histers, 
> 
> Jay Gaidmore, the Library of Virginia's Private Papers Program Manager,
> is not on the list but I asked him if you would respond to Randy's post
> regarding our audio collections.  He has been working on our WRVA
> records, a project that is described below, and I thought he could shed
> some light on what we collect and why.  His response is appended.
> 
> Gregg
> 
> Gregg D. Kimball
> Director of Publications
>   and Educational Services
> Library of Virginia
> 804/692-3722
> [log in to unmask]
> 
> ______________________________________________________
> 
> Dear Mr. Cabell,
> 
> I read your post with great interest.  The Library of Virginia does
> selectively collect audio and moving image materials, such as film and
> video, especially those of a unique nature and format not available
> commercially or duplicated at other institutions.  The material also has
> to relate to Virginia.  Most of the time, these audio and moving image
> materials are part of a larger collection of papers or records.  If
> another institution has taken the time and spent the money to preserve
> the same sound recording or moving image, it is not in our best
> interests to duplicate these efforts.  Indeed, no one institution could
> possibly collect and preserve the full range of such materials and each
> has a role to play.  State institutions such as the Blue Ridge Institute
> and Museum at Ferrum College and regional and national collections such
> as the Southern Folklife Collection at UNC Chapel Hill and the Library
> of Congress have long collected Virginia material with specific goals
> and collection parameters in mind.  There are many others, of course.  
> 
> It is very important that not only Virginia's musical heritage is
> preserved, but sound recordings in general are preserved. The voices of
> past Governors, politicians, entertainers, and recordings of events are
> all in danger of being lost. 
>   
> Here at the Library of Virginia we have taken one small step in
> preserving the recorded sound heritage of Virginia.  With a grant from
> the NHPRC, we have been able to preserve sound recordings of WRVA radio
> from 1929-1995.  Obsolete and deteriorating recordings were converted to
> CD and are know available for use at our Library.  These sound
> recordings include music from the Old Dominion Barn Dance, the Silver
> Star Quartet, and the Sunshine Hour.  We have also preserved speeches by
> Governors James H. Price, William Tuck, Thomas B. Stanley, J. Lindsay
> Almond, Albertis Harrison, and Mills E. Godwin, and Senators Carter
> Glass, A. Willis Robertson, and Harry F. Byrd.  News coverage of
> tornadoes, hurricanes, elections, the General Assembly, and Massive
> Resistance have also been preserved.
> 
> To give you an idea of the breadth of the collection, we also have a
> recording of interview WRVA conducted with Carson T. Overstreet in
> August 1962 concerning the defection of his foster son, James Dresnock,
> to North Korea.  With an upcoming documentary in the works, Dresnock has
> been receiving a lot of news lately.  
> 
> Each of these recordings have been cataloged individually in our
> Archives and Manuscript Catalog at http://www.lva.lib.va.us/whatwehave/
> .  A subject or author search for WRVA will return catalog records for
> over 600 recordings.  A complete listing of the WRVA sound recordings,
> along with other records of the station, can be found at
> http://ead.lib.virginia.edu/vivaead/published/lva/vivadoc.pl?file=vi0056
> 5.xml through the Virginia Heritage Database, a union database of
> finding aids of archival and manuscript collections in special
> collections and archives throughout Virginia. 
> 
> One of the most important things we learned about this project is how
> expensive it is to preserve sound recordings.  Equipment is expensive
> and slowly becoming difficult to find.  Also, while technology enables
> us to convert these analog recordings to digital, it is a time-consuming
> and laborious process.  We are setting up a small sound laboratory here
> at the Library and should be able to convert small numbers of
> recordings.  But even this laboratory could not accommodate the number
> of records WRVA donated to us.  We needed a grant and an outside vendor
> to help.  
> 
> Sincerely, Jay
> 
> ______________________________
> Jay Gaidmore
> Private Papers Program Manager
> The Library of Virginia
> 800 E. Broad St.
> Richmond, Virginia 23219-8000
> [log in to unmask]
> Voice (804) 692-3629
> Fax (804) 692-3603
> 
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Randy Cabell [mailto:[log in to unmask]] 
> Sent: Thursday, September 16, 2004 7:31 AM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: The musical sounds of Virginia.
> 
> 
> A couple of years ago when I was adding photos and sound clips to the
> family genealogy file, I realized the complete lack of sound.  I have a
> photo from 1863 of my GGrandfather, Capt Hugh McGure, CSA, and of course
> lots of photos of folks since then.  But I do not even have a recording
> of the voices of my Father or Mother!
> 
> Consequently, when I read a very nice response from Edward Campbell @
> the Library of Virginia about them NOT having any recordings of Virginia
> Music, it occurred what a terrible void this is.  I appreciate budget
> constraints, limited resources, and I am not beating on the LOF.  On the
> other hand, I find it disheartning that there is apparently no place I
> can go and 'listen through' Virginia musicians like Patsy Cline, the
> wealth of folk singers from the Bristol area, Virginia brass bands, et
> al. 
> 
> Does anybody know of any Virginia instutions that have committed to
> preserve the audio part of our Virginia musical heritage?
> 
> Randy Cabell
> Band of the 19th Virginia Heavy Arty Bn
> 
> 
> 
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