It has been rumoured that the vast BBC Archives might be 'pruned' due to the staff (younger staff) deeming much to be non-woke or non-PC or non-BLM (we have the fascist branch of BLM here in the UK). Certainly OTR enthusiasts in the UK are recovering and restoring and releasing productions from directors and writers such as David Croft and Jimmy Perry - writers of Dad's Army, but also It Ain't Half Hot Mum, and anything featuring the Alf Garnett character. Google these. These latter productions will never see the light of day again due to their anti-PC stance and implied racism (the norm in Brit. society for when they were written and aired in the 1970s.) Then there are the documentaries by Philip Donnellan which explored social issues in his time (again 1970s) such as the perceived exploitation of Irish immigrants in the building and construction trades. He was so sure that the Beeb would wipe or junk his films after airing that he always took the masters home with him. And so they did - few of his documentaries survive, but his classic The Irishmen (about the building of the Victoria tube line in London is now on YouTube. Then too there is the amazing output of Charles Chilton - who incidentally not only created and wrote for the Eagle comic Dan Dare (space explorer), but also the highly acclaimed (now) Space Force radio series. These latter episodes had all been junked by the Beeb, but luckily all were home-taped by enthusiasts and they are now a hot selling item on eBay. Chilton also wrote Riders of the Range - a radio series about Cowboys and Indians in the Wild West. This series went into the hundreds in the 50s and 60s. Not one episode remains - all were wiped. But the Annuals are frequently for sale on eBay. He wrote and produced many radio musical docudramas including How the West Was Won, and How the West Was Sung. Also he wrote similar docudramas for the history of the Texas Longhorn, and plight of the Indians (Native Americans was not a term used then). Most of his output is listed in his Wiki page. But most of his recordings are lost. They are too un-PC to be researched and saved. Luckily we have quite a few complete series, and many isolated episodes. Then there is Charles Parker and his Radio Ballads, in co-operation with Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger. These too were about serious social issues of the time such as Polio, HIV, Travellers (aka Romanys) but also covered such as workmen on the Railways, Ship Building, Coal Mining, Boxing, and numerous other subjects of little interest to todays woke generations. These programmes are rarely aired. But luckily they are in circulation. Their subject matter would be too woke for the snowflakes of today. Then there are A.L.Loyd's and Ewan MacColl's epic musical docudramas. These will never be aired again because 1/ they were wiped or 2/ they are mouldering in the dusty archives. But we have rescued The Song Carriers, and Songs of the People. These are in circulation. Such is Alan Lomax's Song / Ballad Hunter series for the Beeb with Charles Parker. Only one copy exists in the dusty archives in Birmingham. Again the songs that he discovered and recorded would be too un-PC for airing ever again. Copies are NOT in circulation. Then there is Michael Mason's epic series - usually of 26 episodes. His first series Plain Tales of the Raj are too un-PC to he aired again. Only 4 out of 8 episodes exist. Then there was More Plain Tales of the Raj - again few eps. survive. These will never be aired again. His later works The Long March of Everyman and The British Seafarer we have rescued from oblivion and are in circulation. You can read up about all of these talented folk via Google and Wiki. But ALL of the above would have been wiped by the wokes and snowflakes in the Beeb - aka a young generation of staff who don't give a damn about real heritage. Indeed it is the above and more that are rumoured to be consigned to the 'garbage bins of history' never to be heard again. A bit like Netflix continually rewriting British history and offending the Royal Family with fictitious and vicious plot-lines in The Crown et al. A series that indeed does deserve to be wiped; but never the programmes from the above named BBC producers (BTW all of whom have now passed). We have also heard that the British Library might also be consigning many of its holdings to the 'locked cupboard', esp. material mentioning the slave trade or yore. The National Trust is also going through the history of its big houses and palaces and castles to document any connections with the slave trade. It is assumed then that they will sell off many such buildings or gardens etc. to remove any properties from its portfolio that is slightly contentious. Such is the fear about the British Library and its multi-media holdings, but mainly books, with similar connections. I am not sure whether this answers Steve's original request. But there are many who are passionate about saving our real history from the destruction and re-creation promoted by woke and BLM and PC culture from mainly younger folk who know it all but now nothing. Many of us feel that our precious historical archives and artefacts are being plundered and destroyed by deliberate mis-interpretation of historical facts to promote weird and wild political points that we cannot relate too. CJB On 27/12/2020, Stephen M.H. Braitman <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > Hello, one and all: > > We almost made it through this mad year. Glad you’re all still around. > > I’d appreciate some feedback to this issue directed to those of you who > manage collections and archives and are tasked with preservation, > acquisition, and/or “refinement” : > > Is the importance of physical material in libraries and archives decreasing > due to the surge in usage of digital files? > > Do you see a future when physical artifacts are no longer collected, > archived, preserved, once they have been effectively digitized or otherwise > electronically manifested? > > And, finally, is this situation causing institutions to, at least, look more > seriously at their archives and collections for their pertinence and > relevance, thus causing a paring down or refocusing of their priorities? > > Sorry to be long-winded, but thanks for any thoughts you might have. > > Happy new year! > > > Stephen > > > > > Stephen M.H. Braitman, ASA > Accredited Senior Appraiser of Music > Archives & Memorabilia > American Society of Appraisers > > www.MusicAppraisals.com > > 415-897-6999 >