I'm not exactly a song collector. I see myself as a song propagator. I hear people perform their songs or others that are really obscure, and I collect them and then publish them, (with permission, of course) sing them around, give them to people I think will love them, and generally get them out there. When I pick up a song from someone I usually tape it, and then transcribe it to the best of my ability. Then I usually check back with my source to see if I got it right. (Sometimes I can't find the person again).
But this job has some of the same problems -- the folk process is often fast and ferocious with transforming the song, and sometimes I like the transformation better than the original. (in those cases, I often run both versions). Notice, I'm talking about composed songs here, not those found in the tradition, though a lot of what I like sounds traditional.
Blessings,
Barbara