SDR Deposit of the Week: AMICA Bulletin and Stanford Soundtrack

The Archive of Recorded Sound (ARS) recently deposited two significant collections into the Stanford Digital Repository (SDR), the Terry Smythe AMICA Collection and the Stanford Soundtrack Collection.

Terry Smythe AMICA Collection: This collection includes digitized copies of the AMICA Bulletin, 1964 - present, a now bi-monthly journal published by the Automatic Musical Instrument Collectors' Association (AMICA). This journal is the leading publication devoted to mechanical musical instruments, notably player pianos. This collection was generously donated to the Archive by Terry Smythe, who meticulously digitized every issue of the journal ever published. AMICA also graciously permitted Stanford University Libraries to make every issue of the journal available online for free via the SDR, with the exception of issues published in the past year which are embargoed until the following year. The collection will be indexed into SearchWorks in the near future, and once available will provide researchers with instant access to this significant body of written literature related to mechanical musical instrument history. The collection is an exciting addition to the ever increasing number of materials now being collected by the ARS as part of the Player Piano Project. 

Stanford Soundtrack Collection: As reported in the Stanford Daily recently, the Stanford Music Collective (SMC) has recently relaunched the Stanford Soundtrack, a yearly compilation album, produced since 2002, featuring selections from artists active in the current Stanford student music scene. In addition to producing a limited run of CDs, the SMC also provide access to each album via their Soundcloud page. Following discussions with the ARS, the SMC deposited the master audio, artwork, and liner note files for the latest release of the Soundtrack, Vol. 13,  into the SDR for long term preservation. Future deposits will occur annually for each subsequent release. These yearly snapshots of musical talent from across the Stanford campus will serve as a time capsule of sorts for future students looking to discover music created on campus in the past, and maybe even to discover the early output of future famous artists!