Joan,
Could I first of all apologise for the cross-posting. When I was typing my post at 27 Mar 15 - 08:53 AM, you had not revealed your GUEST identity.

I would support strongly the post by Reynard that the Song Collectors Collective Soundcloud site is a fascinating, valuable resource, whether it was recorded by song collectors or enthusiastic amateurs. Over 500 recordings - songs, singers talking about their songs, interviews. They give a great insight into the singers and the communities that their songs survive in.
Now you write, I am not a collector, nor would I ever presume to call myself one. and neither would I though I have made many hours of recordings of traditional singers in their own communities in several countries.
I am reminded of the most recent meeting of the Sussex Traditions steering committee that I mentioned above and Steve Roud speaking. I can't remember his exact words but the gist of what he said was:-

I am not interested in the semantics of who is and who isn't a song collector, but I do know that there are people round this table - enthusiasts - who have made recordings that others would regard as valuable. I also know that people round this table who know of others that have such recordings that we would regard as important to the cultural heritage of this county. In the fullness of time, I would like this committee to be able to assess all such recordings so that we can make them available on our proposed website.