Library completes grant making recordings, speeches, and more from the Southern Labor Archives Audio Collection digitally accessible.
ATLANTA – Georgia State University Library has completed a $23,945 grant from the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) to support digitizing audio holdings in the 20th and 21st century Southern Labor Archives. As a result of the project, 523 recordings that were once inaccessible due to their format and at risk of irreparable degradation are now available to the public in Georgia State’s Digital Collections.
The newly digitized recordings hold a wealth of information from various industries and organizations, including meeting recordings from southern nurses’ associations from 1950s-1970s, various state AFL-CIO meeting recordings, and speeches made by presidents and presidential candidates at labor meetings or conventions. The collection also includes radio ads and clips, information about old hotels and buildings which have since been torn down, and political speeches lost to time because the candidates were not elected.
“We are excited about the impact of this grant and collection,” said Christina Zamon, Head of Special Collections & Archives. “By digitizing and sharing these historical recordings, we’re not just preserving the past, but providing access to a unique set of resources that can inspire and inform future generations.”
The recordings are also being made available to the Digital Library of Georgia, which will be disseminated through the Digital Public Library of America.
The award was part of CLIR’s “Recordings at Risk” program, which is made possible by funding from the Mellon Foundation. Georgia State’s project, “Digitizing Southern Labor’s 20th and 21st Century Spoken Word,” was one of 20 selected for funding by CLIR out of 91 applicants nationally.
Learn more about the CLIR’s “Recordings at Risk” grants program: https://www.clir.org/2022/04/clir-awards-rar-cycle-9/
Explore the Southern Labor Archives Audio Collection within the Digital Gallery: https://digitalcollections.library.gsu.edu/
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About the Georgia State University Library
The Georgia State University Library houses over 1.9 million physical volumes, 700,000 ebook titles, 230,000 serial titles and 280 online databases. The libraries on each of the six campuses provide access to the expertise of librarians and staff dedicated to student success. Special Collections and Archives documents the history of the university, Atlanta and life in the South, with particular strengths in social change movements during the late 20th and early 21st centuries. The 300,000 sq. ft. Atlanta Campus location offers seating for over 2,000, 55 group study rooms, an outdoor terrace and access to leading-edge computing and visualization technology. To learn more about the University Library, visit library.gsu.edu.
About The Council on Library and Information Resources
The Council on Library and Information Resources is an independent, nonprofit organization that forges strategies to enhance research, teaching and learning environments in collaboration with libraries, cultural institutions and communities of higher learning. To learn more, visit www.clir.org and follow CLIR on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter).