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 To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html