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Nick -- I heard back from the British Library today - it seems that the email thread just got lost in the shuffle and my message to the list prompted a response. They're interested in taking the digital copies of the discs, so I'll be sending those along to them. I heard from several other institutions interested in the physical discs here in the US. I'm sorting through the messages and will make a decision soon. When I talked with the British Library and the BBC back in June/July, I provided the full inventory link I posted earlier to the list, which includes condition notes on a few of the discs that had problems and the programs that were incomplete. We also discussed the problems in shipping costs for the discs and I provided links to some of the transfers so they could get an idea of the sound quality. Randy On Tue, Dec 2, 2014 at 5:06 AM, Nick Morgan < [log in to unmask]> wrote: > Hi, > > I'm surprised to read that the British Library isn't interested. Over the > last few years the BL has acquires several collections of broadcast > recordings (in-house and off-air) and I'm positive it would be interested > in > this material, in the right circumstances. > > Just recently, at least two large collections of off-air broadcast > recordings have been catalogued, digitised, and made available to BL > readers. See under 'Faded text' in this BL blog post: > > > http://britishlibrary.typepad.co.uk/collectioncare/2013/07/revealing-hidden- > information-using-multispectral-imaging.html > > Also: > http://sounds.bl.uk/Classical-music/Derek-Collier-Collection > > Another important collection acquired by the BL and including many > broadcast > recordings is the Leech Collection - and more are mentioned here: > > http://www.bl.uk/reshelp/bldept/soundarch/soundcdp/development.html > > I personally know one BL curator who is always on the look-out for more > such > material. > > Of course, lack of information about exact contents and condition, and > potential shipping costs, might give pause for reflection, so it's > essential > that the relevant curators are given as much information as possible. > > Who did you contact at the BL, may I ask, and who responded and how? Did > he, > she or they refuse outright? > > It's become a bit of a standard trope that large institutions don't 'seem > interested' in this sort of material. I agree it's true of some, but it's > certainly not true of the British Library and I'm sure it wouldn't want > that > impression to be given public currency without qualification. > > Nick > -----Original Message----- > From: Association for Recorded Sound Discussion List > [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Randy A. Riddle > Sent: 02 December 2014 01:45 > To: [log in to unmask] > Subject: [ARSCLIST] Possible home for some BBC transcriptions? > > I'm turning to the group for some advice on a group of BBC transcriptions > that came my way a few months ago. > > The story behind them is rather curious. A man in the military in the > early 70s got a large group of Armed Forces and BBC transcriptions from an > AFRS station in Asia when they were cleaning out a storage room. He mailed > the discs to his home near Seattle and they stayed boxed up in his garage, > untouched, until about a year ago when his daughter was ready to throw them > out. A neighbor took them and eventually contacted me. > > The Old Time Radio Researchers Group agreed to take the discs. I wound up > with the BBC transcriptions and a couple of other volunteers got the AFRS > discs. > > The neighbor was hoping the discs could go to an archives. I've not had > any luck - I talked with the BBC and the British Library, but they didn't > seem interested. I've donated my discs to Duke University of American > shows, but they're reluctant to take them because of copyright - they're > interested in material that connects to their other collecting areas and > that can eventually be made available through their online digital > collections. > > I've made digital transfers of all the discs and will probably have 300 dpi > scans of all the labels done over the holiday break. > > The collection consists of about 80 discs, all shellac 16"ers, dating from > 1947-48. The programming is varied - everything from classical, "pops", > and big band music programs to dramas, variety shows and news shows. > There's an inventory here: > > https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/54210054/bbc-detailed-inventory.rtf > > Is there any institution here in the states that might want these? They're > pretty expensive to ship, especially outside of the US. > > While I find the collection fascinating, I've got a small apartment and > really don't have room for them with my main transcription collection. > > Any suggestions appreciated. > > Randy >