Mark,

I agree, this is an excellent beginning--but good as it looks, there are questions to ask and answers to sort out. I've already had Dad's papers for four years, waiting to get myself into a position to sort through and organize them. I'm about to that point. Three separate universities, in the general area of the Northwest and Western Canada have people who have said they'd like to see the papers there (this isn't the same as a formal arrangement, this is purely preliminary networking). Someone else suggested the museum set up around Jimi Hendrix's work, because it is central, and funded (How is Microsoft stock looking this month?). I'd like to donate them somewhere (I don't think anyone is going to offer to buy them, but a valuation and donation at least have tax advantages) where they can be processed soon. I am willing to work on them as much as I need to (I want to do this) and have discussed informally the possibility of compiling a CD of Dad's work to sell in order to raise a small endowment for the collection, if this will hasten it's availability to people who want to use it. I have a friend down here in Texas whose husband is a producer for some big names in established music circles, so know I can rely on them for useful information in pursuing this project as far as the quality of the sound, even if it ends up being a garage operation distribution-wise.

This also leads into the larger question that Bob Nelson and Jean Smith and I have discussed--what to do with the collections of people who are long-deceased, where their materials are stored in basements of friends? I would love to be in a position to pull all of these together into a substantial body of Northwestern musical archival resources and see that they all get the attention they deserve and allow those who wish to research their works to have easy access. These materials first have to be safeguarded and assessioned. Again, the question of funding the job for whoever houses it--can funds be generated by releasing some of the material in compilations?

I think several of us are sitting on some valuable and delightful musical resources, and this Folklife/City of Seattle move may be a good one. But I need a lot more answers first (especially when a governmental entity like a City are involved. Winds shift so quickly there!).

Maggie