Are we on the right track? Issues with LP record collections in U.S. academic libraries.(Report)

ABSTRACT

This article reports on the findings of a survey on collection development and circulation practices of LP records in U.S. academic libraries conducted in September of 2007. Areas of special interest included the size of LP collections, identification of barriers to access, collection development practices, and digitization activities. The survey found that libraries have large LP collections, many libraries have large uncataloged collections, limited resources to manage these sound collections, and are faced with storage problems.

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How can libraries ensure that our audio heritage residing on long-playing records (LPs) will still be available in the future? Today there are 46.4 million sound recordings held in U.S. libraries, archives, and museums, (1) and a large percentage of these recordings are on LPs. While playing equipment is still available on the market, most users listen to music either on compact discs (CDs) or on MP3 players. Turntables are not yet obsolete but they are becoming less used by each new generation of library users. College students are accustomed to swapping files between their computers and MP3 players instead of placing styluses in grooves. As MP3 players have become more affordable, they become must-have items for ever)' teenager and college student. These devices now allow anyone to carry thousands of songs for easy listening anywhere at any time. LPs do not offer this type of flexibility--they are larger than other audio media, and, since many of our patrons no longer own turntables, the only place they can listen to them is in the library.

Why is the repertoire on LPs important for libraries? Libraries have acquired large LP collections that contain repertoire and performances that have never been released in digital format. Tim Brooks reported in 2005 that only 14 percent of historic sound recordings issued between 1890 and 1964 on cylinders, 78 rpm discs, and LPs were legally reissued on CD. Since LPs were introduced to the market after World War II, limiting Brooks's data to the years 1950-64 gives a more accurate percentage for LP reissues. The data indicate that 57 percent of recordings from 1950 to 1964 never saw commercial CD reissue. (2) Other studies have led to similar conclusions. For example, Peter Munstedt, analyzing about 1,000 LPs donated to the Lewis Music Library of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1993 noted that LPs "contain too much repertoire to abandon." (3)

Libraries need to continue maintaining the physical carriers of analog music, but due to limited budgets, libraries also need to carefully consider what they keep in their collections. Moving some parts of the library collection to off-site storage facilities, switching journal subscriptions from print to online, and using compact shelving all help in lowering collection maintenance costs. How can libraries then justify keeping their large analog audio collections on the shelves? What criteria can be used in deciding what to preserve, what to digitize, what to deselect? The authors' survey seeks to provide data to assist librarians in answering these questions by gathering information on current library practices related to the collection-development issues of LPs, such as handling, maintenance, storage, and digitization. This article describes how libraries of varying sizes are dealing with these issues, as well as the various factors librarians consider in their collection-management decisions about this particular analog format in the digital age.

METHODOLOGY