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British Library Sound Archive

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A reference collection of playback and recording devices, including historic gramophones and record players, that chart the history of sound reproduction equipment. Photographs of some of these may be viewed online. In addition, the Sound Archive's engineering department maintains a wide selection of
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The Sound Archive holds an extensive reference collection of printed materials relating to recordings. The collection includes books and periodicals from around the world, a wide-ranging collection of discographies, and one of the largest collections of commercial record catalogues dating back to the
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In 2015 the library launched the 'Save Our Sounds' programme to address the urgent need to digitise unique recordings in the UK's sound archives. These recordings are at risk of being lost due to deterioration of physical recording formats and decreasing availability of playback devices. The aims of
409:, the bulletin of the British Library Sound Archive, was published free of charge from 1992 to 2010. All 44 issues are available online. A range of British Library CDs are available covering nature sounds, world music, historical speeches and recordings of famous poets, playwrights and authors. 376:
The Sound Archive provides a range of services. The Sound Archive's online catalogue of over 1.5 million recordings can be viewed online, and it is updated daily. Recordings may be listened to free of charge in the British Library Reading Rooms. Copies of recordings can be purchased subject to
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As part of Save Our Sounds, between 2017 and 2022 'Unlocking Our Sound Heritage', a network of ten regional centres across the UK, was set up to digitise a wide range of recordings held in local archives, including music, radio broadcasts, drama, oral history and wildlife recordings.
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service provides free online access for UK higher and further education institutions to over 90,000 rare recordings of music, spoken word, and human and natural environments. 65% of these recordings are also freely accessible for public listening online.
240:, which had been split off from the British Museum, in April 1983. It was later renamed the British Library Sound Archive. The metal masters originally collected by the British Museum were transferred to the Archive in 1992. 204:(BIRS) in 1955, after realizing that material was in danger of being lost as the British Museum did not maintain a comprehensive archive. The institute was located in a property owned by the British Museum in 111:, spoken word and ambient recordings. It holds more than six million recordings, including over a million discs and 200,000 tapes. These include commercial record releases (chiefly from the 1354: 229:
that he founded the BIRS seven years earlier in 1948, is misleading. In 1973 Saul recalled that Hyatt King was chairman of the embryonic Institute in 1953 (the second chairman, following
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to preserve as much as possible of the nation's rare and unique sound recordings, including items from other UK national and regional collections and from other groups and individuals
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of audio recordings in 1906 (on the basis that records would wear out), with a number of donations being made up until 1933. These recordings included some by
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offers training workshops and events in oral history and wildlife sound recording, as well as audiovisual archiving internships.
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trust in Birmingham. A public appeal resulted in the donation of thousands of shellac discs, which started off the collection.
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Handling and storage of audio and video carriers : Technical Committee standards, recommended practices, and strategies
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Conservation Manager of the National Sound Archive/British Library Sound Archive from 1986 to 2002.
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The history of the Sound Archive can be traced back to 1905, when it was first suggested that the
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working playback tape and disc players for the purposes of digitising its sound collections.
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to invest in new technology to enable the archive to receive music in born-digital formats
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The claim made in the 1995 obituary of British Museum music librarian and BIRS director
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Day, T. (2001). The National Sound Archive: the first fifty years. pp 41-64 in
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is among the largest collections of recorded sound in the world, including
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should have a collection of audio recordings of poets and statesmen.
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Playback: the bulletin of the British Library Sound Archive
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The British Library Sound and Moving Image catalogue (SAMI)
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The British Institute of Recorded Sound became part of the
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Conflicting accounts exist regarding the founding of the
812: 79: 1548: 467:The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians 427:free online access to over 90,000 sound tracks. 263: 362: 844: 381:of wildlife sounds can be made to order. The 134:began digitising the collection in the 1990s. 994:Todd-Bowden Collection of Tauchnitz Editions 489: 456: 1380:Turner Collection of Railway Letter Stamps 851: 837: 734:"Radio recordings: jazz and popular music" 632:: CS1 maint: location missing publisher ( 546: 53:, London, England, NW1 2DB, United Kingdom 1375:Turner Collection of Newspaper Tax Stamps 770: 708:"About the British Library Sound Archive" 522: 520: 518: 516: 514: 464:, eds. (2001). "National Sound Archive". 186:were also donated in the period 1920–50. 1557:Archives in the London Borough of Camden 702: 700: 698: 530:(A. Linehan, Ed.). The British Library. 212:), and supported by a donation from the 126: 803:British Library Sound Archive web pages 569:'A Note on the Institute's pre-history' 528:Aural History: Essays on Recorded Sound 389: 1549: 586:"British Museum Gramophone recordings" 511: 1310:Postal Authority Publicity Collection 832: 748: 695: 675: 256:to establish a national radio archive 1572:Sound archives in the United Kingdom 1567:Music archives in the United Kingdom 1499: 1240:Imperial War Museum stamp collection 778:"Playback & recording equipment" 726: 353: 858: 825:360° rotatable views of 13 machines 208:(with rent and rates guaranteed by 202:British Institute of Recorded Sound 191:British Institute of Recorded Sound 115:), radio broadcasts (many from the 93:British Institute of Recorded Sound 13: 1215:H.M. Customs and Excise Collection 243: 119:), and privately made recordings. 14: 1583: 1220:H.M. Stationery Office Collection 796: 710:. British Library. Archived from 1498: 1489: 1488: 549:"Obituary: Alexander Hyatt King" 283:The specialist collections are: 26: 1421:Oral History of British Science 1245:Inland Revenue Stamping Archive 1195:Foreign and Commonwealth Office 1150:Contributions Agency Collection 401: 32:The Archive became part of the 1370:Turner Collection of Forgeries 1365:Treasury Excise Correspondence 1230:Harrison & Sons Collection 823:Online gallery: record players 676:Spice, Anton (12 April 2017). 669: 644: 592: 578: 571:, reprint of 1973 article, in 561: 547:Hugh Cobbe (23 October 2011). 540: 450: 278: 1: 1416:British Library Sound Archive 443: 89:British Library Sound Archive 21:British Library Sound Archive 1315:R.P.S.L. Handouts Collection 1270:Landmark Trust Lundy Archive 1135:Campbell-Johnston Collection 969:Leyden Medical Dissertations 652:"Save our Sounds | Projects" 270:Unlocking Our Sound Heritage 264:Unlocking Our Sound Heritage 7: 1562:British Library collections 903:National Reports Collection 412: 371: 363:Historic playback equipment 10: 1588: 1015:Coptic Language Collection 984:Suppressed Safe collection 267: 122: 1484: 1438: 1408: 1200:Foreign Office Collection 1100: 1084: 1068: 1002: 911: 875: 866: 75: 70: 62: 57: 45: 41: 25: 20: 1355:Supplementary Collection 893:Francis Place Collection 470:(2nd ed.). London: 377:copyright clearance and 1165:Crown Agents Collection 1060:Stefan Zweig Collection 575:13, July 1999, p. 51-60 419:Theatre Archive Project 1426:St Mary-le-Bow Debates 1400:Wilson-Todd Collection 813:British Library Sounds 425:British Library Sounds 383:British Library Sounds 144:The Gramophone Company 135: 97:National Sound Archive 1305:Photograph Collection 1185:Fitzgerald Collection 1120:Bojanowicz Collection 1045:Lansdowne manuscripts 959:Harold Pinter Archive 636:) CS1 maint: others ( 437:National Life Stories 176:Herbert Beerbohm Tree 130: 1295:Muraleetharan Papers 1160:Crown Agents Archive 1115:Blackburn Collection 472:Macmillan Publishers 421:Oral History strand. 390:Educational services 221:Alexander Hyatt King 95:; also known as the 66:6,500,000 recordings 1529: /  1466:Preservation Office 1345:Sherborn Collection 1265:Langmead Collection 1225:Harrison Collection 1190:Fletcher Collection 1180:Feldheim Collection 1145:Chinchen Collection 1076:Beudeker Collection 1030:Harleian Collection 1010:Arundel Manuscripts 989:Thomason Collection 883:Ettridge Collection 714:on 12 February 2010 656:The British Library 249:the programme are: 1533:51.5298°N 0.1275°W 1360:Tapling Collection 1340:Shelley Collection 1330:Seymour Collection 1275:McInroy Collection 1255:Kaluski Collection 1250:Johnson Collection 1205:General Collection 1140:Chismon Collection 1130:Burnett Collection 1040:King's manuscripts 1025:Egerton Collection 949:Garrick Collection 934:Durrell Collection 898:Jaffray Collection 888:Evanion Collection 588:. British Library. 136: 1512: 1511: 1434: 1433: 1390:Walker Collection 1385:U.P.U. Collection 1300:Murray Collection 1290:Mosely Collection 1210:Ginger Collection 1170:Davies Collection 1110:Bailey Collection 1092:Burney Collection 1055:Syriac Collection 1050:Stowe manuscripts 1035:Royal manuscripts 1020:Cotton Collection 954:Hannas Collection 939:Eccles Collection 929:Dexter Collection 780:. British Library 758:. British Library 736:. British Library 682:The Vinyl Factory 611:978-0-9930690-0-0 499:. British Library 497:"Save our Sounds" 481:978-1-56159-239-5 354:Printed materials 348:traditional music 184:shellac pressings 172:Ernest Shackleton 164:Francesco Tamagno 146:started donating 117:BBC Sound Archive 85: 84: 71:Other information 1579: 1544: 1543: 1541: 1540: 1539: 1538:51.5298; -0.1275 1534: 1530: 1527: 1526: 1525: 1522: 1502: 1501: 1492: 1491: 1461:Panizzi Lectures 1350:Smith Collection 1335:Scott Collection 1285:Monks Collection 1280:Model Collection 1155:Crawford Library 873: 872: 853: 846: 839: 830: 829: 790: 789: 787: 785: 774: 768: 767: 765: 763: 752: 746: 745: 743: 741: 730: 724: 723: 721: 719: 704: 693: 692: 690: 688: 673: 667: 666: 664: 662: 648: 642: 641: 631: 623: 596: 590: 589: 582: 576: 565: 559: 558: 544: 538: 524: 509: 508: 506: 504: 493: 487: 485: 454: 321:Radio recordings 196:Sound archivist 166:, and others of 30: 18: 17: 1587: 1586: 1582: 1581: 1580: 1578: 1577: 1576: 1547: 1546: 1537: 1535: 1531: 1528: 1523: 1520: 1518: 1516: 1515: 1513: 1508: 1480: 1430: 1404: 1395:Williams Papers 1325:Ryan Collection 1235:Heys Collection 1175:Ewen Collection 1096: 1080: 1064: 998: 944:Ediciones Vigía 907: 868: 862: 860:British Library 857: 799: 794: 793: 783: 781: 776: 775: 771: 761: 759: 754: 753: 749: 739: 737: 732: 731: 727: 717: 715: 706: 705: 696: 686: 684: 674: 670: 660: 658: 650: 649: 645: 625: 624: 612: 598: 597: 593: 584: 583: 579: 566: 562: 554:The Independent 545: 541: 525: 512: 502: 500: 495: 494: 490: 482: 455: 451: 446: 415: 404: 396:British Library 392: 374: 365: 356: 326:Spoken language 288:Classical music 281: 272: 266: 246: 244:Save Our Sounds 238:British Library 226:The Independent 125: 91:, formerly the 37: 34:British Library 12: 11: 5: 1585: 1575: 1574: 1569: 1564: 1559: 1510: 1509: 1507: 1506: 1496: 1485: 1482: 1481: 1479: 1478: 1473: 1468: 1463: 1458: 1453: 1448: 1442: 1440: 1436: 1435: 1432: 1431: 1429: 1428: 1423: 1418: 1412: 1410: 1406: 1405: 1403: 1402: 1397: 1392: 1387: 1382: 1377: 1372: 1367: 1362: 1357: 1352: 1347: 1342: 1337: 1332: 1327: 1322: 1320:Row Collection 1317: 1312: 1307: 1302: 1297: 1292: 1287: 1282: 1277: 1272: 1267: 1262: 1260:Kay Collection 1257: 1252: 1247: 1242: 1237: 1232: 1227: 1222: 1217: 1212: 1207: 1202: 1197: 1192: 1187: 1182: 1177: 1172: 1167: 1162: 1157: 1152: 1147: 1142: 1137: 1132: 1127: 1122: 1117: 1112: 1106: 1104: 1098: 1097: 1095: 1094: 1088: 1086: 1082: 1081: 1079: 1078: 1072: 1070: 1066: 1065: 1063: 1062: 1057: 1052: 1047: 1042: 1037: 1032: 1027: 1022: 1017: 1012: 1006: 1004: 1000: 999: 997: 996: 991: 986: 981: 976: 974:Paston Letters 971: 966: 964:King's Library 961: 956: 951: 946: 941: 936: 931: 926: 924:Cotton Library 921: 919:Ashley Library 915: 913: 909: 908: 906: 905: 900: 895: 890: 885: 879: 877: 870: 864: 863: 856: 855: 848: 841: 833: 827: 826: 820: 815: 810: 805: 798: 797:External links 795: 792: 791: 769: 747: 725: 694: 668: 643: 610: 591: 577: 560: 539: 510: 488: 480: 458:Sadie, Stanley 448: 447: 445: 442: 441: 440: 434: 431:Peter Copeland 428: 422: 414: 411: 403: 400: 391: 388: 373: 370: 364: 361: 355: 352: 351: 350: 341: 332: 323: 318: 309: 304: 299: 290: 280: 277: 268:Main article: 265: 262: 261: 260: 257: 254: 245: 242: 206:Russell Square 182:. 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Retrieved 772: 760:. Retrieved 750: 738:. Retrieved 728: 716:. Retrieved 712:the original 685:. Retrieved 681: 671: 659:. Retrieved 655: 646: 600: 594: 580: 573:IASA Journal 572: 567:Saul, Paul. 563: 552: 542: 527: 501:. Retrieved 491: 465: 452: 406: 405: 402:Publications 393: 379:spectrograms 375: 366: 357: 302:Oral history 282: 273: 247: 235: 224: 218: 210:Robert Mayer 201: 200:founded the 198:Patrick Saul 195: 190: 188: 180:Lewis Waller 152:Nellie Melba 137: 96: 92: 88: 86: 80:sounds.bl.uk 15: 1536: / 1003:Manuscripts 869:collections 687:22 February 661:22 February 279:Collections 231:Frank Howes 168:Lev Tolstoy 51:Euston Road 1551:Categories 1521:51°31′47″N 1102:Philatelic 1085:Newspapers 912:Literature 718:14 January 444:References 337:and other 297:literature 99:(NSA), in 58:Collection 1524:0°07′39″W 1451:Employees 628:cite book 620:895787511 1494:Category 876:Ephemera 413:See also 407:Playback 372:Services 335:Wildlife 330:dialects 193:(BIRS). 46:Location 36:in 1983. 1504:Commons 1456:Friends 784:6 April 762:29 July 756:"Sound" 740:29 July 503:6 April 123:History 105:England 76:Website 1476:Sounds 618:  608:  534:  478:  214:Quaker 160:Caruso 101:London 1439:Other 1409:Sound 867:Named 344:World 293:Drama 109:music 1069:Maps 786:2015 764:2013 742:2013 720:2011 689:2022 663:2022 638:link 634:link 616:OCLC 606:ISBN 532:ISBN 505:2015 476:ISBN 394:The 346:and 328:and 316:jazz 314:and 295:and 178:and 162:and 87:The 63:Size 49:96, 223:in 1553:: 697:^ 680:. 654:. 630:}} 626:{{ 614:. 551:. 513:^ 474:. 460:; 174:, 170:, 158:, 154:, 113:UK 103:, 852:e 845:t 838:v 788:. 766:. 744:. 722:. 691:. 665:. 640:) 622:. 557:. 507:. 486:‎ 484:.

Index


British Library
Euston Road
sounds.bl.uk
London
England
music
UK
BBC Sound Archive

Peter Copeland
British Museum
The Gramophone Company
metal masters
Nellie Melba
Adelina Patti
Caruso
Francesco Tamagno
Lev Tolstoy
Ernest Shackleton
Herbert Beerbohm Tree
Lewis Waller
shellac pressings
Patrick Saul
Russell Square
Robert Mayer
Quaker
Alexander Hyatt King
The Independent
Frank Howes

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