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Sound recordings include any media on which sound has been recorded and can be played back. Sound recordings can be in the physical form of cylinders, phonograph records, tape reels and cassettes, or compact discs. They can also exist in various digital formats (such as WAV, MP3, etc.) that can be copied to a physical format as required.
The British Columbia Archives has extensive and varied collections of sound recordings related to the social and cultural history of the province. These holdings fall into the following broad categories:
The archives holds approximately 8500 oral history tapes; 7000 tape recordings of radio broadcasts, music, field recordings, and natural or manufactured sounds; 1250 published disc recordings (mainly of BC music); and 1100 unpublished disc recordings (mostly radio and amateur recordings).
Oral History Interviews: The BC Archives holds about 4000 recorded interviews. These include material acquired from private donors (including broadcasters, historians, researchers and local historical societies); interviews produced for the archives' Sound Heritage Series; and interviews recorded by archives staff. The largest oral history accession is the Imbert Orchard Collection, donated by Mr. Orchard and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in 1975 and 1985. It comprises about 950 interviews recorded throughout the province in the 1960s, and focuses on immigration and settlement in BC in the years before the First World War. The scope, high quality and early recording date make this collection a foundation for the oral history documentation of British Columbia.
Other key oral history collections include the Behind the Kitchen Door Project (domestic work), the West Coast Medical History Society Collection, the Jewish Historical Society of British Columbia Collection, the Coal Tyee Society Collection (coal mining on Vancouver Island) and the Reynoldston Research and Studies Collection (ethnic groups, women and other BC topics).
Through its Sound Heritage publications (1972 - 1983), the archives focused recording projects in subject areas not well documented by other sources, such as ethnic history, labour history, local history, and specific occupations. In contrast, recordings by archives staff generally dealt with topics that complemented existing archival holdings, including BC politics and government, and the history of broadcasting and filmmaking in the province.
The Royal BC Museum's Anthropology Audio-Visual Collection also includes a large number of original sound recordings dealing with First Nations, including recordings of oral history and aboriginal music.
Radio Broadcasts: The BC Archives has substantial holdings of radio broadcast recordings from privately-owned radio stations in Vancouver, Victoria and the BC interior, as well as the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. These include acetate disc recordings from the period 1935 to 1960 and magnetic tape recordings from the late 1950s through the mid-1980s. Major collections have been donated by former broadcasters and by several avid collectors, as well as by the stations themselves. Among the privately-owned radio stations represented are CKWX and CJOR (Vancouver), CJVI (Victoria), and CKOV (Kelowna). A valuable group of amateur off-air recordings document Vancouver broadcasting in the 1930s. Public broadcasting is represented in major collections of radio programs by CBC producers Robert Chesterman, Jurgen Hesse, Don Mowatt, Norman Newton and Imbert Orchard, and a substantial number of British Columbia Schools Broadcasts (1941 - 1980) produced in co-operation with the Department of Education. In addition, the archives holds a large selection of CBR (CBC Vancouver) productions from the period 1940 - 1960, copied from originals held by the National Archives of Canada.
Published Sound Recordings: Most of the published recordings in the collection consist of recorded music, as discussed below. However, this category also includes the documentary sound programs produced and distributed by the BC Archives to accompany publications in its Sound Heritage Series. For a list of these programs (which are available for purchase on cassette), see BC Archives Publications.
Recorded Music: Key collections include aboriginal music of the Pacific Northwest, collected by Ida Halpern and by Mildred Valley Thornton, as well as the Phil Thomas collection of BC folk songs. In addition, the archives also holds numerous phonographic records created by BC musicians, composers, ensembles and studios; this material dates from the 1950s through the 1980s.
As of 7 July 2006, the on-line index contained descriptive entries for about 2,580 sound recordings, or approximately 20 per cent of our total holdings in this medium. The descriptions have been compiled from the existing paper-based accession records, finding aids, documentation files and catalogue cards - information that until now has only been accessible on-site through the Archives' reference room. This is an ongoing project, and further descriptions will be added to the index on a regular basis. Ultimately, the Sound Recordings Index will contain almost 13,000 descriptions, mainly at the item level.
The index project has initially focussed on oral history material from northwestern BC; the Reynoldston Research and Studies Collection; and a number of private [i.e. commercial] radio broadcast collections. Until the on-line index has been completed, researchers interested in sound recordings are advised to also consult the card catalogue and hard-copy finding aids available in the reference room.
Audio cassette reference copies exist for many of the sound recordings, and clients may listen to them in the reference room during regular service hours. If a reference copy is not available for a particular title, one can usually be created for listening purposes. Please discuss this with the Duty Archivist in the reference room.
Complete or partial transcripts are also available for some of the oral history interviews. If the transcript note indicates that there is a transcript on file, it can be requested by submitting a call slip to the retrievals desk.
Out-of-town clients intending to access sound recordings during a visit to the archives should contact us in advance to allow staff time to check the status of the material.
Audio cassette or compact disc copies of some sound recordings may also be purchased for private listening and research purposes only. Such purchase is subject to Canadian copyright law, as well as any donor restrictions. Users may be required to obtain written approval from the copyright holder or the donor before ordering a copy.
For details on ordering copies, please see Copying and Reproduction Services.
Commercial re-use of sound recordings is limited by the provisions of Canadian copyright law. Licensing fees may apply for any such use. The Licensing and Permissions Programme administers commercial licensing agreements on behalf of the BC Archives and the Royal BC Museum Corporation. For further information, please see Licensing and Permissions Programme.
Voices: A Guide to Oral History. Edited by Derek Reimer, David Mattison and Allen Specht. Victoria: Provincial Archives of British Columbia, 1984. Although the technical information is somewhat out of date, this remains a useful how-to manual on oral history research. Copies can be ordered through the BC Government Publication Index.
Inventory and Subject Index of Principal Oral History Collections. Victoria: Provincial Archives of British Columbia, 1985. This index of the BC Archives' oral history holdings is out of print, but copies can be accessed in our reference room.
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| Inquiries: | Inquiries related to archival holdings, specific records, access, research, or reproduction orders may be submitted via electronic form or Email, as well as by mail or fax. | ||
| Home Page: | http://www.bcarchives.gov.bc.ca | This Page: | http://www.bcarchives.gov.bc.ca/sound/general/sound.htm |
| Last Modified: | Monday, 10-Jul-2006 07:11:48 PDT | Maintained by: | webmaster@www.bcarchives.gov.bc.ca |
| Copyright: | Information on this site is provided for research purposes only. Please review Access and Usage. Unless indicated otherwise, this page and all contents are Copyright ©, BC Archives, Royal BC Museum. | ||
| Records Classification: This site is classified and scheduled under ORCS 15100-25 | |||