Collection context
Summary
- Title:
- Edward E. Colby papers
- Dates:
- 1957-1997
- Creators:
- Colby, Edward E. (Edward Eugene)
- Extent:
- 30.25 Linear Feet
- Language:
- English .
- Preferred citation:
-
[identification of item], Edward E. Colby Papers (SC0242). Dept. of Special Collections and University Archives, Stanford University Libraries, Stanford, Calif.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
The contents of this collections consist primarily of correspondence, reference queries, interdepartmental memos, collection contents, operational records, and acquisition records of the Music Library and Archive of Recorded Sound during Colby's tenure as Head Librarian.
- Biographical / historical:
-
Edward Colby was the first music librarian at Stanford and co-founder of the Archive of Recorded Sound. Colby joined the Stanford staff in 1949, a year after the Department of Music was founded, and retired in 1978. During his tenure, the music library grew from a collection of about 800 books and scores and a small number of 78 rpm recordings to a research collection that could support graduate-level programs. The Archive of Recorded Sound, a collection of historically important recordings, which Colby founded in 1958 with alumnus William R. Moran, is now the largest such collection in the western United States.
Colby was born in Oakland on July 5, 1912. He attended the University of California-Berkeley, where he graduated in 1935 with a bachelor's degree in music composition. After his graduation, Colby began working at the Oakland Public Library and joined the library's music department staff in 1938.
Colby joined the Army in 1941 and worked as an Army librarian as well as in Army intelligence in China, where he also served as a church organist for a Chinese Christian church and played in a pick-up marching band for the opening of a section of the Burma Road.
After his return to Oakland, a paper Colby delivered at a 1948 conference attracted the attention of Music Department faculty, who hired him to become the university's music librarian. In addition to his work as librarian, Colby taught a graduate course in music bibliography at Stanford. He earned a master's degree in music from Stanford in 1956.
Colby's "vision of collection development and public services directed Stanford into the forefront of music libraries," said Garrett Bowles, who worked with Colby at Stanford as assistant music librarian.
On his retirement from Stanford, Colby was cited as "a pioneer in the scholarly use of sound recordings" and a "leader in the preservation of every form of recording medium." A Campus Report article about his retirement noted that no list of achievements could begin to describe the special quality of his generous service to the university.
Colby, who died in 2006, was survived by his wife, Helen, of San Jose; and two daughters, Lisa Christiansen of San Jose and Jeanne Colby of Mountain View.
- Physical location:
- Special Collections and University Archives materials are stored offsite and must be paged three business days in advance. For more information on paging collections, see the department's website: https://library.stanford.edu/libraries/special-collections.
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Indexed terms
About this collection guide
- Date Encoded:
- This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2025-09-16 14:40:07 -0700 .
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
Box 13 is restricted. All other materials are open for research use. Audio-visual materials are not available in original format, and must be reformatted to a digital use copy.
- Terms of access:
-
All requests to reproduce, publish, quote from, or otherwise use collection materials must be submitted in writing to the Head of Special Collections and University Archives, Stanford University Libraries, Stanford, California 94305-6064. Consent is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission from the copyright owner. Such permission must be obtained from the copyright owner, heir(s) or assigns. See: http://library.stanford.edu/spc/using-collections/permission-publish.
Restrictions also apply to digital representations of the original materials. Use of digital files is restricted to research and educational purposes.
- Preferred citation:
-
[identification of item], Edward E. Colby Papers (SC0242). Dept. of Special Collections and University Archives, Stanford University Libraries, Stanford, Calif.
- Location of this collection:
-
Stanford University Archives, Green Library557 Escondido MallStanford, CA 94305-6064, US
- Contact:
- (650) 725-1022