archiving our musical inheritance

Subject: RE: archiving our musical inheritance
From: Steve Gardham
Date: 23 Aug 09 - 06:11 PM

We are having a similar problem in London at the moment with some of our more senior members realising that they can't go on for ever. Where a collector has rare material that the VWML (EFDSS) would want to preserve there are issues of space, cataloguing and preservation/conservation costs. To get round this we have suggested book collections also can be donated by the same person and any that the library already has can be sold to pay for those costs.

Having said all that, if it is simply a book collection which largely consists of readily obtainable books or books that are coming online anyway, then the simplest way is to get someone like Dave Eyre in to give you a price for the whole library and let him sell them, and so pass them on to younger collectors/scholars. Dave has done this on several occasions for some pretty famous people in the last few years and I can fully vouch for his sensitivity and fairness.

I also like the idea of passing them on to some of the wonderfully talented young people who are taking an interest in the subject. (Sam Lee in London springs to mind.) Whem Malcolm died some of his folders were passed on to me. A lot of the material I already had so I immediately made arrangements to give this material to a young performer in our area who I knew would make good use of it.

Subject: RE: archiving our musical inheritance
From: GUEST
Date: 23 Aug 09 - 02:27 PM

Unless it is catalogued - it is virtualy useless.

Few have the desire to dig through dead people's disorganized crap.

Miles and miles of catalogued boxes - are waiting beneath Smithsonian for someone to even care to view...#441A5567 box letters Buckeye CO 1932 -1934 Ackerman.

Volunteering at a library - 2/3 of the donations go in the dumpster....too old, too worn, water stain, mildew, unknown, markings....TONS - dumpsters so full the disposal company can't lift them.

Aviation, best sellers, War, text books are all keepers....music? who care or plays?

Subject: RE: archiving our musical inheritance
From: treewind
Date: 23 Aug 09 - 02:26 PM

What about in the UK?
Hi Marje

What about the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library in Cecil Sharp House?
If they couldn't house or or didn't want it, I'm Malcolm Taylor would be able to give good advice on alternatives.

Also Dave Eyre, here on Mudcat as Folkiedave, would probably be interested. See Collectors Folk - certainly a good home for interesting folk books.

Anahata

Subject: RE: archiving our musical inheritance
From: open mike
Date: 23 Aug 09 - 02:09 PM

Cecil Sharp House--could this British place be a good place to donate?

some library have friends of the library book sales..

if you donate there, they could benefit the library and
find good homes but not maybe all to the same home...

my ex is a book dealer...i will ask him for any ideas

do check the sing out resource center...east coast U.S.

how about this place...i think i saw it featured on
Huell Housers educational t.v. history show California Gold

http://www.folkmusiccenter.com/

Subject: RE: archiving our musical inheritance
From: Deckman
Date: 23 Aug 09 - 01:43 PM

I HAVE "THE SOLUTION" ... at least one that will work for me. When I die, I'm just gonna' gift ALL MY BOOKS to Joe Offer, and let him worry about it! bob(deckman)Nelson

Subject: RE: archiving our musical inheritance
From: GUEST,Wyrd Sister
Date: 22 Aug 09 - 03:52 PM

In the UK, you could always try the National Archive for English Culture and Tradition, University of Sheffield. (But ask for any unwanted items to be returned.)

Subject: RE: archiving our musical inheritance
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 22 Aug 09 - 03:42 PM

Of course, Building your own library sometimes works.

(?)

John

Subject: RE: archiving our musical inheritance
From: Deckman
Date: 22 Aug 09 - 02:12 PM

John ... Your posting is interesting. I have several library contacts. Over the next few weeks I expect I'll be able to find out more about how all that works. Bob(deckman)Nelson

Subject: RE: archiving our musical inheritance
From: GUEST,DWR
Date: 22 Aug 09 - 02:11 PM

Public libraries in general are poor places to put collections that are precious to you. They are continually disposing of excess materials in order to make room for more. Go to a library version of a yard sale and you'll see what I mean.

I could give you numerous examples of extremely important nearly one of a kind items that have been almost immediately dumped into the remainder bin by librarians who either didn't know the historic value of the items, or worse, didn't care. I have this information directly from several people who feel that their collections were treated badly.

Also, you may feel that a particular library has someone in charge who is going to treat these collections with care. What happens when that person is gone and the successor is of a different opinion? I have also seen that scene play out.

I know there is pretty much no one in my family who is even the least bit interested in roughly 90% of what I value. My thought is to try to pass what I have on to some like minded younger people. I have several in mind that I think will appreciate the materials and will use them with care and love. You can't ask for more than that.

How they handle the situation when it becomes their time to make the same decision will no longer be my problem.

Dale

Subject: RE: archiving our musical inheritance
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 22 Aug 09 - 01:41 PM

We've recently attempted to reduce our "collections" to facilitate a relocation, and have had ZERO success in passing much of anything to public libraries.

Others may find a different situation, but the public libraries accessible to us have no interest in archiving anything. They want only books that are of current interest, likely to be checked out by local readers, with the expectation that they'll last just long enough to be of no "no longer popular" with those who come in looking for "something to read."

A better possibility might be a university library, but you're unlikely to find very much interest there unless you can identify a specific existing collection where your books would add significantly, or can find a specific person with special interest in what you have. The "special collections" we've identified are mostly interested only in "things that belonged to someone important" than they are in the "things" of any kind.

The bottom line is "don't expect it to be easy" to find someone who will take care of what you can no longer keep. But if you do find a way, let the rest of us know how you did it ... ... soon.

John

Subject: RE: archiving our musical inheritance
From: Deckman
Date: 22 Aug 09 - 09:27 AM

Laurel ... thanks for starting this thread. This is a subject dear to my heart. For purposes of this thread, I will stick just to BOOKS.

Like probably every other serious folksinger, I've been collecting books for many years. Occasionally my bookcases will send me a message that they are overloaded. Then I go through them, decide what I no longer "need," and dispose of them. I do this usually by giving them to friends who I know will value and learn from them. I have occasionally put them up for auction at MC to benefit MC.

Some years ago, friend John Ashford in Seattle said something that has stuck with me. We were talking about my immense book collection and I mentioned the thought of establishing a "library" for public use of my personal collection. He said: "Are you SURE that you want all those strangers through your house at all times of the day?"

These days I'm thinking that the best repository for our book collections lies with any public library who will accept them. Bob(deckman)Nelson

Subject: RE: archiving our musical inheritance
From: Marje
Date: 22 Aug 09 - 08:04 AM

I haven't seen the other thread but am just jumping in here to refresh this one and widen it a bit.

What about in the UK? Has anyone any thoughts about the best way of disposing of books here? I have what I think is an interesting collection of song and tune books, but it's a bit of a specialised interest. If someone else ends up having to dispose of them one day, what would be the best way of going about it? I know they'd sell on eBay but that requires a lot of time and effort.

Would organisations like The Wren Trust or Folkworks have any use for them? Has anyone got a better idea?

Marje

Subject: RE: archiving our musical inheritance
From: open mike
Date: 22 Aug 09 - 04:51 AM

http://www.singout.org/sorce.html

Subject: archiving our musical inheritance
From: open mike
Date: 22 Aug 09 - 04:49 AM

in another thread we are discussing the dispersal and auction of a musician's archive, instruments, etc.

the question came up (Joe) what to do with books, etc?

I recommend sing out resource center, smithsonian folkways
or the "mudcat foundation" create a repository to keep these
legacies safe and available for future generations.

we need a west coast archive ... san francisco folk music club??!!

in seattle the nordic museum has a large room upstairs filled with
the colections and work of scandinavian music and dance by Gordon Tracy.

perhaps there is a room somewhere waiting for folk archives?