Presentation

“Don’t Knock the Rock”: Making Popular Music Collections a Part of Your Archives

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Abstract

Documenting and chronicling regional music scenes can be a difficult venture for an archival repository. Unlike records that originate from an individual or within an organization, those of music scenes are often ephemeral, scattered, and hidden from scholarly communities. Collectors and creators of these materials sometimes underestimate their enduring historical value. Or conversely, they may be unaware of the role that archival repositories play in their community and therefore be reluctant to donate their materials. Repositories themselves may be unprepared for the challenges associated with collecting these materials, including unique donor relations strategies and content in diverse media formats. The panelists in this session represent a diverse range of experience with musical materials and will explore the successes, failures, trials, and tribulations of their attempts to document popular and local music scenes in their respective archival repositories. In discussing their own attempts at documenting scenes in Champaign, Illinois; Dayton and Cleveland, Ohio; and Louisville, Kentucky, panelists will address the common concerns that arise in preservation efforts of this nature, including donor relations, community outreach, accessibility, documentation strategies, and making the case for collecting these materials to administration, peers, and library friends groups.

How to Cite:

Schwartz, S., Fox, H., Grennan, R., Pasi, G., Reilly, E. E. & Thomas, J., (2014) ““Don’t Knock the Rock”: Making Popular Music Collections a Part of Your Archives”, MAC Annual Meeting Presentations .