 Pacifica Radio Archives Director Testifies to Library of Congress Advocating for Preservation of Precious Sound Recordings
On November 29th, Pacifica Radio Archives (PRA) Director Brian DeShazor testified to the Library of Congress about growing threats to irreplaceable recordings owned by the Pacifica Foundation as well as growing concerns regarding preservation of this archival material.  DeShazor presented major findings at a public hearing in Los Angeles of The National Recording Preservation Board (NRPB), a panel convened by the Library of Congress. NRPB was created by Congress in 2000 and is charged with developing action plans for the inventory and preservation of sound recordings throughout the United States.
Listen to the testimony here
The Pacifica Radio Archives is one of the oldest and largest collections of broadcast sound recordings, after the Library of Congress itself. Currently this collection faces its greatest threat, since the oldest acetate and Mylar recordings are rapidly deteriorating, and new material worth preserving grows beyond available resources for cataloging, storage, and web access, to make it publicly accessible.
PRA's mission is to preserve the unique compendium of controversial ideas, progressive politics, culture, and music that have been aired and recorded by radio producers at the radio stations of Pacifica and its affiliated radio stations.
"We are savings for future generations the voices, music, perspectives, and events of the latter half of the twentieth century," said DeShazor. "It's an honor for PRA to be recognized by the Library of Congress as a significant archive of recorded sound that represents voices and other American cultural treasures in need of preservation."
African American History and the Civil Rights Movement are documented extensively in the PRA archives, including interviews with Rosa Parks, Malcolm X, and James Baldwin, and many others. Other recordings include the voice of Bella Abzug; the poetry of Allen Ginsberg and Adrienne Rich; the humor of the Firesign Theater and Steve Allen; political speeches by Shirley Chisholm to Wilma Mankiller; field recordings of anti-Viet Nam war and anti-Iraq war demonstrations and demonstrations for a national holiday for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.; original compositions by Duke Ellington, feminist musician Holly Near and new music forefather Lou Harrison.
DeShazor's testimony coincided with a national broadcast of special programming from the Pacifica Radio Archives, to raise funds for preservation and distribution of historic Pacifica Radio Archives content. It was aired by Pacifica Radio Stations KPFK 90.7 FM in Los Angeles CA, KPFA 94.1 FM in Berkeley CA, WBAI 99.5 FM New York NY, WPFW 89.3 Washington D.C., and KPFT 90.1 Houston TX. Pacifica affiliate KZFR in Chico, California also aired the broadcast.
For more information about Pacifica Radio Archives visit www.pacificaradioarchives.org. |
