Stanford Archive of Recorded Sound (Stanford University)

Established in 1958, the Stanford Archive of Recorded Sound was a collection devoted to the acquisition and preservation of historically and artistically significant sound recordings. The Archive houses approximately more than 350 000 recordings, 5000 film and video sources and 6000 print and manuscript items. Some of the items date back to the late 1800s, the earliest years of sound recording, allowing the collection to be found in almost every format of recorded sound that can be found. This includes wax cylinders, shellac and vinyl discs, acetate and aluminum transcription discs, magnetic wire recordings, tapes, compact discs, and laser discs.

The Archive provides a number of core services to its visitors with their research offering state-of-the art listening facilities, a large reading room for individual and group study, duplication services, and reference assistance. Tours of the archive can also be arranged for interested groups or individuals, notably restricted to library and archive students or music majors.

The archive's materials are for on-site use only. Its collections are housed at Stanford Auxiliary Library. These materials must therefore be prepared and transported to the Archive, taking up to 3 business days to arrive. Visitors are then advised to contact the Archive in advance so that required materials can be prepared. The Archive holds two categories of materials, commercial recordings on 78rpm and LP discs and unique collections, which comprises of privately recorded material, radio broadcasts and other rare or one-off recordings.

The archive is open to members of the public from Monday to Friday at 09h00am until 17h00pm.