A Preliminary Directory of Sound Recordings Collections in the United States and Canada byA Committee of the Association for Recorded Sound CollectionsReview by: Edward E. ColbyNotes, Second Series, Vol. 25, No. 3 (Mar., 1969), pp. 504-505Published by: Music Library AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/895369 .

Accessed: 15/06/2014 04:57

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range ofcontent in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new formsof scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

.

Music Library Association is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Notes.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 195.34.79.174 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 04:57:37 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

to one of 14 categories (1 solo, 2 duo, etc., to 14 chorus and orchestra). Then a reference number is established, consist- ing of year of composition, sequence num- ber in that year, and category, e.g., 65.1.2. The information on the composition in- cludes title, date of composition, duration, instrumentation, data on text, city, place and date of first performance including performer or conductor, publication of reviews, recordings, other comments, pub- lisher, and date of publication. Over seventy compositions by Sydeman are listed in alphabetical order. Separate pages give brief biographical information on the composer and a list of publishers and re- cording companies.

In her Preface the editor gives two short examples of the types of informa- tion which can be computer-generated from the basic data. One is a listing of a few pieces according to duration. Here one would expect an ordering from short- est to longest duration, but instead it appears that the alphabetical listing of the compositions is retained. The output is also in solid upper-case print, despite the fact that the basic entries use upper and lower case. Another sample output shows pieces using piano. Neither of the sample listings prints the reference number as- signed to each piece. It would be un- fortunate if the reader concluded that these limitations were due to the ma- chine and not to the editor's decisions.

In a period of rapidly changing tech- nology there is a tendency to put off work on automated catalogues because of a fear that one's efforts will become outmoded. With careful planning this need not be so. One can start with the amount of in- formation proposed by Miss Reich and expand or rearrange in the future. For example, the day is not far off when music characters will be available for the computer print train, making it possible to print a melodic incipit for each com- position in a catalogue.

As similar projects by other compilers and editors are developed in the future, it seems to this writer that there will be need for a clearing house on this ac- tivity, provided perhaps by the Music Li- brary Association. It is pointless for two persons to be working on the same com- poser, and there is need for agreement on formats and encoding procedures. Surely

to one of 14 categories (1 solo, 2 duo, etc., to 14 chorus and orchestra). Then a reference number is established, consist- ing of year of composition, sequence num- ber in that year, and category, e.g., 65.1.2. The information on the composition in- cludes title, date of composition, duration, instrumentation, data on text, city, place and date of first performance including performer or conductor, publication of reviews, recordings, other comments, pub- lisher, and date of publication. Over seventy compositions by Sydeman are listed in alphabetical order. Separate pages give brief biographical information on the composer and a list of publishers and re- cording companies.

In her Preface the editor gives two short examples of the types of informa- tion which can be computer-generated from the basic data. One is a listing of a few pieces according to duration. Here one would expect an ordering from short- est to longest duration, but instead it appears that the alphabetical listing of the compositions is retained. The output is also in solid upper-case print, despite the fact that the basic entries use upper and lower case. Another sample output shows pieces using piano. Neither of the sample listings prints the reference number as- signed to each piece. It would be un- fortunate if the reader concluded that these limitations were due to the ma- chine and not to the editor's decisions.

In a period of rapidly changing tech- nology there is a tendency to put off work on automated catalogues because of a fear that one's efforts will become outmoded. With careful planning this need not be so. One can start with the amount of in- formation proposed by Miss Reich and expand or rearrange in the future. For example, the day is not far off when music characters will be available for the computer print train, making it possible to print a melodic incipit for each com- position in a catalogue.

As similar projects by other compilers and editors are developed in the future, it seems to this writer that there will be need for a clearing house on this ac- tivity, provided perhaps by the Music Li- brary Association. It is pointless for two persons to be working on the same com- poser, and there is need for agreement on formats and encoding procedures. Surely

there should be exchange of programs for this kind of work. In Miss Reich's own university, the Institute for Computer Re- search in the Humanities has developed the various GRIPHOS programs specifically designed for cataloguing and indexing. Finally, many computer centers already have utility programs or special program packages which can do this work with little further effort on the part of a programmer.

HARRY B. LINCOLN State University of New York

at Binghamton

A Preliminary Directory of Sound Re-

cordings Collections in the United States and Canada. Prepared by A Committee of the Association for Re- corded Sound Collections [Jean Bowen, Chairman]. New York: The New York Public Library, 1967. [157 p.; paper $3.00]

One of the most striking developments in the library-museum field during the past decade has been the establishment and growth, in some instances spectacular growth, of historical sound archives. Un- like the phonorecord collections which serve the day-to-day needs of academic departments and of listening rooms and home-use operations of public libraries, historical sound archives are founded and maintained primarily for the preservation and use of discs, tapes, player piano rolls, and other media as historical documents. This development has been recognized formally by the recent organization of the Association for Recorded Sound Collec- tions and by its publication of A Prelim- inary Directory of Sound Recordings Col- lections in the United States and Canada, prepared by the Association's Program Committee, consisting of Miss Bowen, chairman, Jerrold N. Moore, Kurtz Myers, and Helen Roach.

According to the Committee's prefatory statement, the Directory is based on "in- formation... obtained from questionnaires mailed to individuals and institutions and from published and unpublished direc- tories already in existence." The entries are arranged alphabetically by state and within state by name of collector (private) or collection (institutional). Information

there should be exchange of programs for this kind of work. In Miss Reich's own university, the Institute for Computer Re- search in the Humanities has developed the various GRIPHOS programs specifically designed for cataloguing and indexing. Finally, many computer centers already have utility programs or special program packages which can do this work with little further effort on the part of a programmer.

HARRY B. LINCOLN State University of New York

at Binghamton

A Preliminary Directory of Sound Re-

cordings Collections in the United States and Canada. Prepared by A Committee of the Association for Re- corded Sound Collections [Jean Bowen, Chairman]. New York: The New York Public Library, 1967. [157 p.; paper $3.00]

One of the most striking developments in the library-museum field during the past decade has been the establishment and growth, in some instances spectacular growth, of historical sound archives. Un- like the phonorecord collections which serve the day-to-day needs of academic departments and of listening rooms and home-use operations of public libraries, historical sound archives are founded and maintained primarily for the preservation and use of discs, tapes, player piano rolls, and other media as historical documents. This development has been recognized formally by the recent organization of the Association for Recorded Sound Collec- tions and by its publication of A Prelim- inary Directory of Sound Recordings Col- lections in the United States and Canada, prepared by the Association's Program Committee, consisting of Miss Bowen, chairman, Jerrold N. Moore, Kurtz Myers, and Helen Roach.

According to the Committee's prefatory statement, the Directory is based on "in- formation... obtained from questionnaires mailed to individuals and institutions and from published and unpublished direc- tories already in existence." The entries are arranged alphabetically by state and within state by name of collector (private) or collection (institutional). Information

504 504

This content downloaded from 195.34.79.174 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 04:57:37 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

about a given collection, depending on the completeness with which answers were provided, includes name of archivist or curator, general composition of the col- lection, special subjects collected, physical types of recordings, size of collection, in- formation about state of cataloguing, ex- change possibilities, published materials on the collection, and additional notes. About 1700 collections are represented; private holdings constitute a formidable segment of the whole. While a large num- ber of the archives are devoted to "classi- cal" or "popular" vocal or instrumental music, oral history is well represented. The range of subjects becomes strikingly apparent at the mention of some of the categories listed: history of quantum physics, washboard bands, juvenile adven- ture serials, harp singing, civil rights, the Marshall Plan, proceedings of denomina- tional and ecumenical meetings, the lum- ber industry in the Northwest, Eskimo music (in Canada), and gold pioneering in the United States.

The Committee members are amply aware of certain enforced shortcomings, noting that "some collectors failed to give complete information" and "other col- lectors failed to return the questionnaires at all, so that information about their

collections is confined to their names and addresses." Circulating collections have been included-this reviewer's distinction to the contrary notwithstanding-though some institutions known to have large circulating collections did not reply at all. While the National Broadcasting Com- pany, with a collection of 169,800 units, is represented, entries for other large net- works do not appear. One may inquire further whether NBC's videotapes are in- cluded in the count.

For a future, more definitive edition of the Directory it is hoped that subject indexes can be added, gaps filled, and that some indication of the dates of estab- lishment of the collections listed may be provided, an advantage with both histor- ical and practical aspects. One trusts also that the descriptive literature on the vari- ous collections will have increased.

Miss Bowen and her Committee are to be commended for this essential first step in laying the groundwork for co- operation among sound archives. With continued support, sound materials should one day be as accessible through rerecord- ing as book materials are at present through inter-library loan and microfilm.

EDWARD E. COLBY

Stanford University

P^

505

L

This content downloaded from 195.34.79.174 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 04:57:37 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions