Edison disc record: "The Jelly Roll blues", performed by The Original Memphis Five, recorded in New York, New York on September 22, 1923.
Mon, Feb 28, 11:46 am | Special Research Collections, Collections
Thomas Edison National Historical Park (TENHP) released 2,400 historic Edison disc sound recordings, digitized and made available online in cooperation with the University of California, Santa Barbara Library Special Research Collections on the Discography of American Historical Recordings (DAHR)...
Wed, Dec 22, 10:31 am | Special Research Collections
On January 1, 2022, an estimated 400,000 sound recordings published before 1923 will enter the public domain thanks to a law passed in 2018. This is significant because, until 2022, no sound recording has entered the public domain due to copyright expiration.  The UC Santa Barbara Library has...
John Levin examines a wax cylinder from his home collection.
Around the world, there exist repositories of writings, imagery, and tools that mark the evolution of humankind, but what are the sounds of our shared history? For the last 35 years, collector John Levin has been amassing a collection of brown wax cylinders--one of our earliest media for recorded...
Wayne Shoaf and Melinda Hayes
Count Dracula, Vlad the Impaler, and vampire pop culture may not seem like obvious areas for scholarly research. However, couple Melinda Hayes, University of Southern California (USC) Rare Books Librarian, and Wayne Shoaf, USC Metadata and Digital Librarian recognized this undervalued collecting...
Mary Garden in Debussy's Pelléas et Mélsande
About 2,000 rare early opera recordings, including cylinders and 78 RPMs valued at $300,000, were recently donated to the UCSB Library Special Research Collections Performing Arts Collection to be digitized and made available to the public.  The collection was donated by Catherine Glaze, who...
Eden Ahbez at Health Hut
Each year, the Kenneth Karmiole Endowed Research Fellowship program invites scholars from around the world to apply for a unique one to three months opportunity to pursue research, using primary source materials only available at UCSB Library’s Special Research Collections.  Collections available...
RT Livingston
In 2018, conceptual artist RT Livingston gifted her extensive collection of artwork and related materials to the UC Santa Barbara Library’s Special Research Collections. Livingston’s body of work, primarily inspired by human relationships with the environment, ranges from photography and...
Michael Hannon
In early September 2021, California poet Michael Hannon donated materials surrounding his life’s works to the UC Santa Barbara Library Special Research Collections. Inspired by reflections on religion, philosophy, mortality, and the impermanence of life, Hannon’s poetic journey began in 1960,...
A Gennett Record of Dancin' Dan
Considered to be one of the first truly independent labels, Gennett Records will be the next record company to join the Discography of American Historical Recordings (DAHR), a database of master recordings made by American record companies during the 78 rpm era edited by a team of researchers at...
Image showing Ballitore, Ireland handwritten in black ink
Research by students at three separate universities on a collection in the UC Santa Barbara Library that hasn’t been studied extensively since the 1970s is gaining attention - and funds - from several prestigious institutions. The Ballitore Project is a collaboration between UCSB, California State...

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