78 RPM Mission Statement

There's something magical about old records. Hearing voices from the past, before the music industry straight-jacketed the creativity, variety, and (sometimes) sheer insanity of what could be released upon unsuspecting listeners, is a thrilling experience. But there are significant obstacles to hearing these records. The records themselves are rare, and - once obtained - require special equipment for playback. Many of the rarest and most interesting records are owned by reclusive collectors who distrust the traditional routes for making these recordings available to the wider public - including libraries and archives.

On the other hand, there are a lot of collectors out there who are worried about what will ultimately become of their lovingly tended gardens of sound. Will they disappear into a box somewhere? Will they be sold off, record by orphaned record?

78 RPM will act as a much-needed mediator between record collectors and archives. For a fee, 78 RPM will gather, clean/organize, digitize, and catalog a collector's holdings. The digitized copies will be returned to the collector, while the original records will be donated to an archive of the collector's choosing.

78 RPM will be a small company, consisting of a director, a sound engineer, a sound engineer's assistant, a cataloger, a shipping/receiving person, an administrative assistant, and a director. Additionally, 78 RPM will have a close working relationship with a tax specialist who can advise collectors about the benefits of donation.

By contracting with 78 RPM, collectors are guaranteed that their collection will not linger, uncatalogued and unused in the stacks of an archive. They can also feel good about their decision to donate their beloved collections, knowing that the original records are in the hands of professional archivists who will provide top-notch care for them for the foreseeable future. And archives will be able to provide access to these rare and culturally valuable recordings to generations of users.