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National Library News |
by Richard Green,
Research and Information Services
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The Virtual Gramophone: Canadian Historical Sound Recordings <http://www.nlc-bnc.ca/gramophone>, when completed, will provide researchers and enthusiasts with a comprehensive overview of the 78-rpm era in Canada, which lasted from 1900 to 1957, when 78s finally succumbed to the newer 45-rpm and 33.3-rpm technologies. The initial two phases of this project, funded in part by Industry Canada’s SchoolNet Digital Collections program, Bell Canada through its Stentor Alliance, and the Digital Library Infrastructure Program of the National Library (NLC), were launched in the fall of 1998 and the spring of 1999. They covered the earliest commercial recordings manufactured in Canada: seven-, eight- and ten-inch discs produced between 1900 and 1915 by the Berliner Gramophone Company of Montreal, the world pioneer in flat-disc recording technology.
The Virtual Gramophone Web site takes full advantage of the multimedia possibilities of the World Wide Web. Currently included on this Web site are 366 audio files of complete sound recordings; scanned images of the labels on 1 713 discs in the NLC’s collection; 14 biographies of prominent Canadian artists of the 78-rpm era; tabular chronologies of the early development of sound-recording technology and of the recording industry, 1878-1924; narrative histories of the recording industry in general and the Berliner Company in particular; an overview of the record labels included in the site so far; links to related Internet sites; a bibliography of sources used in the preparation of this site; and technical details on the preparation of the audio files.
The heart of the Virtual Gramophone site is a database which employs Oracle software as its search engine, includes enhanced cataloguing information on 3 304 recordings to date, and is accessible by 25 indexing fields. Unlike most library catalogues, this database is designed specifically for 78-rpm recordings. In addition to having the usual fields such as name, title, record company, and issue number, the Virtual Gramophone database permits separate searches for performers and composers, and includes fields of specific interest to discographers (i.e., matrix number, recording date, recording location, record company label and sub-label). Search terms can be combined using the Boolean operators "and", "or", and "not". The "Comments" section of each cataloguing record provides a detailed physical description of the pertinent disc. If the recording is in the NLC’s collection, there is a link to an image of the centre label of the disc, enabling researchers to examine the recording virtually. Cataloguing records are also linked to the appropriate audio files and biographies, where these exist. A great deal of original research has been undertaken to provide the most detailed and accurate information possible about these recordings. All sources are cited in the "Authorities" section of the cataloguing record. The Virtual Gramophone also provides details about the database structure, a description of each field and the type of information it contains, definitions of the terms used, and searching instructions and guidelines.
The combination of an easy-to-navigate layout, a flexible search engine, and multimedia elements should make the Virtual Gramophone an interesting and useful site for both the serious researcher and the casual Internet surfer. The audio files and historical documentation provide a window into the past that is impossible to duplicate via print media. The audio files feature many of the most popular songs of their eras. Visitors interested in refreshing their musical memories, students undertaking school projects, instrumentalists and singers searching for period repertoire, and discographers researching the career of a particular musician or the history of a certain record company should all find something worthwhile on the Virtual Gramophone site.
While this Web site displays the high-tech possibilities of the Internet to considerable advantage, the Virtual Gramophone also helps to meet the NLC’s historical goals. Traditional library pursuits are, as the National Librarian, Marianne Scott, has said, "developing, cataloguing and preserving collections". The Virtual Gramophone achieves this by:
The creation of this Web site also addresses a recommendation of the 1992 conference of the Bibliographic Society of Canada, that a discography of historical Canadian sound recordings be prepared.
In the past, information about, and access to, the NLC’s collection of 40 000 78-rpm discs has been obtainable mainly by visiting the NLC in Ottawa. The 78-rpm holdings are not included in the Library’s main catalogue, AMICUS, and the recordings themselves do not circulate. On-site visitors have been able to access non-circulating finding aids and catalogues, consult in-house reference sources for background information about the discs, obtain further details about the recordings from the Recorded Sound Collection staff, and listen to the recordings. Off-site researchers could only consult the NLC staff. One of the aims of the Virtual Gramophone is to end the disparity between the levels of access available to on-site and off-site patrons. Now anyone with access to the Internet has 24-hour-a-day access to part of the national preservation collection of 78-rpm discs and to all the associated data and information about them mounted on the site. It will take additional time and resources to extend this access to the entire NLC collection of 78s, but, with the first two phases of the Virtual Gramophone available on the Internet, we have taken a significant first step in making the wealth of Canada’s early recorded sound heritage accessible to all Canadians.