Hi Dave Lewis-

Thanks for the "thanks".  I hope it will prove to be a useful resource.

I'm happy to answer general questions here on ARSClist.  If you have 
specific questions, please email me directly at [log in to unmask] .

You asked:
> I note "Call Number: Ask staff" and "Notes: Copy 1: EDIS 093572-a." Is
> the EDIS 093572-a an archival number, particularly as you have to make
> contact with the staff to get a proper call number? 

Many sound archives are part of a larger library organization.  Thomas 
Edison National Historical Park (TENHP) is not.  TENHP is a unit of the 
National Park Service (NPS).  Following the NPS standards, there are some 
particular things that we did differently than what most libraries might 
do.  We did not assign typical "call numbers."  Instead, we used the NPS 
object catalog number system for shelf location retrieval.  The EDIS-
number is what identifies a unique object - one particular copy of a 
cylinder or disc.  If you are interested in one particular copy, you would 
use the EDIS-number to identify it when contacting the sound archivist 
(me) at TENHP.


> I assume if you visit ENHS you will be able to listen to these items
> from digital files?  

You can request digital copies by following the procedures outlined on our 
website, here:  http://www.nps.gov/edis/photosmultimedia/requesting-an-
audio-recording.htm


> And what if you wanted to access a digital file online?

Frustrating for me (and you I'm sure), not everyone in the National Park 
Service agrees that it is legally safe to post Edison recordings on-line.  
So, we're facing resistance to the idea of posting any more TEHNP 
recordings on-line.  This is an issue we are grappling with currently.  I 
hope there will be some positive developments in the not-distant future.  
We ask for your patience on this. 

-Jerry Fabris