Established in 1958, the Stanford Archive of Recorded Sound was one of the first major collections devoted to the acquisition, preservation, and dissemination of historically and artistically significant sound recordings at an educational institution. Recordings embody a historical immediacy that exists in tandem with written communication. The Stanford University Libraries pioneered in recognizin
g that these aural documents should be an integral part of a university’s scholarly resources. Researchers may draw upon a variety of sources in the Archive, some dating back to the earliest years of sound recording in the late nineteenth century. Composers interpreting their own music (Debussy or Ellington, for example) and poets reading their own works (Stein, Eliot, or Burroughs) provide living links to the past, and such aural legacies of cultures and communities continue to be created. The Archive houses more than 400,000 recordings and over 6,000 print and manuscript items. Almost every format developed to record sound may be found here: wax cylinders, shellac and vinyl discs, acetate and aluminum transcription discs, magnetic wire recordings, tapes, compact discs, and laser discs. The Archive maintains an extensive reference collection of books and periodicals on the history and development of the sound recording industry and its major figures. A wide range of discographies covering specific performers, manufacturers, and subjects provides access to our largely uncataloged holdings. Original record manufacturers’ catalogs, liner notes, photographs, and clipping files are also available for research.
