Guide to the Rigler-Deutsch Index Computer Tapes ARS.0105

Finding aid prepared by Franz Kunst

Archive of Recorded Sound

Braun Music Center

541 Lasuen Mall

Stanford University

Stanford, California, 94305-3076

650-723-9312

soundarchive@stanford.edu

Descriptive Summary

Title: Rigler-Deutsch Index Computer Tapes

Date: 1985

Collection number: ARS.0105

Collection size: 2 boxes : 31 computer tapes

Repository: Archive of Recorded Sound

Abstract: Computer tapes containing data from the Rigler and Deutsch Index of Recorded Sound (RDI), a union catalog of 78-rpm disc holdings from several major research libraries, including the Stanford Archive of Recorded Sound.

Language of Material: English

Access

Open for research; material must be requested at least two business days in advance of intended use. Contact the Archive for assistance.

Publication Rights

Property rights reside with repository. Publication and reproduction rights reside with the creators or their heirs. To obtain permission to publish or reproduce, please contact the Head Librarian of the Archive of Recorded Sound.

Preferred Citation

Rigler-Deutsch Index Computer Tapes, ARS-0105. Courtesy of the Stanford Archive of Recorded Sound, Stanford University Libraries, Stanford, Calif.

Sponsor

This finding aid was produced with generous financial support from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.

Scope and Contents

The Rigler and Deutsch Index of Recorded Sound (RDI) was a union catalog of 78-rpm discs in the sound recording collections at five different Association of Research Libraries institutions: the Library of Congress Motion Picture, Broadcasting, and Recorded Sound Division; the Rodgers and Hammerstein Archives of Recorded Sound at the New York Public Library; Syracuse University's Belfer Audio Laboratory and Archive; the Yale Collection of Historical Sound Recordings; and the Stanford Archive of Recorded Sound. The index was distributed to ARL members beginning in 1984, and was available on microform or on the Research Libraries Information Network (RLIN).

Contained in this collection are thirty-one 10.5" reel IBM and Memorex brand computer tapes holding title, composer, performer, label, record number, and matrix number information on approximately 615,000 disc recordings. The labels of these discs were photographed, resulting in 1,230,000 microfilm images. There is little identifying information on the reels, outside of the dates 7/21/1985, 7/31/1985, and 8/1/1985. These tapes are notable as artifacts, even if they are never read by a machine again. Although the RDI's flaws are evident today (little authority control, inexperienced data entry, etc.), the project was a landmark accomplishment and established the possibility of a cooperative catalog for a given medium. The Archive of Recorded Sound also maintains its microform version of the Rigler-Deutsch Index.

Background

Lloyd E. Rigler and Lawrence E. Deutsch were philanthropists and partners in a successful business. Deutsch was also a record collector, and when he passed away in 1977, he left his estate to their Foundation. Meanwhile, in 1974 planning for a union catalog was initiated by the Associated Audio Archives of the Association for Recorded Sound Collections (ARSC), and work began on the project in 1981. Rigler underwrote the effort, with additional support from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Hewlett Foundation, and the Ledler Foundation. By 1984 a set of microfilm and indexes were distributed. Free access to the index was possible at the five participating libraries. Several years ago, there was discussion of reviving the RDI and combining it with the American Vintage Record Labelography (AVRL) project. Unfortunately no further developments have been reported.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

Sound recordings--Catalogs

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