They’ve All Got a Song to Sing or a Story to Tell project proposes to preserve this unique and invaluable sound archive, and promote its use as widely as possible. At present, the archive is stored on very poor-quality tape, and is in danger of being lost forever unless it is transferred to another medium. The Trust has transferred some recordings on to archive quality tape, but they are volunteers, not in good health, and progress has been slow.
This project aims to take advantage of developments in ICT to transfer the archive to a digital format on to hard drives with a CD-ROM back-up. The digital transfers would be available as files, and thus easier to find than on tapes, and would be capable of migration to another format.
The project will also open up the archive, which deserves to be better known. The Trust will provide a basic catalogue of what is contained in the archive in the form of a searchable database. This will be available on both the GMCRO and the NWSA web-sites, making remote access to the catalogue possible. In addition, a selection of recordings based on the theme Work and Play will be made available on GMCRO’s web-site and in CD-ROM format. Copies of the CD will be sent to local schools and community organisations. The project will be launched by having Open Days at GMCRO, when members of the community will be invited to come along and have their own memories and songs recorded for posterity. These will be added to the Paul Graney Sound Archive.
The Sound Archive collected by Paul Graney is of enormous significance. It contains interviews with thousands of ordinary people, telling their own stories of how they used to live and work. The archive thus gives a voice to people who generally have been excluded from the traditional historical process, and contains a wealth of information for educational users and lifelong learners, as well as social and cultural historians.
The archive also serves as a crucial document of an important cultural movement. The second folk music revival from the 1950s saw an enormous interest in the traditional songs in Britain. Paul Graney traveled extensively throughout the folk clubs in the North West of England, recording performances by as many people as possible, amateurs as well as professionals. The archive he collected as a result is unique and invaluable. It shows the whole range of people engaged in a hugely popular cultural activity, and will be of great interest to musicians in particular.
At present, this archive cannot be made available to the public. Most of it is on poor quality tape, and it remains largely uncatalogued. The Trustees have transferred some recordings to archive quality tape, but they are volunteers with little time, and so the process is painstakingly slow. The archive is in real danger of being lost to posterity unless action is taken.
This project will conserve this unique heritage item for posterity, and use ICT developments to make it more accessible. By transferring the archive to a digital format, in an uncompressed form capable of later migration, the archive will be better preserved. Back-ups on CD-ROM will be stored off-site at the North West Sound Archive, which will also house the original tapes.
The project will also ensure that the archive will be publicised as widely as possible, and will make access to the recordings much easier. The recordings will be available in a file format, thus facilitating easier retrieval. A basic catalogue will be made available online at the GMCRO and NWSA web-sites, allowing people to search by keyword at their own convenience. The archive will be promoted by the free CD-ROM of selections of the recordings on the theme of Work and Play, and this will also be available on GMCRO's web-site.
The project will allow volunteers to actively participate in
preserving a unique aspect of the region's heritage. The Trustees of the PGMFT
will have the opportunity to oversee the running of the project, as well as
compiling the catalogue and helping select the recordings on the CD. Other
community members will be encouraged to add to this archive by adding their own
reminiscences on their own lives, work and songs, thus continuing the work that
Paul Graney started.
