The Rolling Stones, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the Lone Ranger and Bob Newhart dominated the news in March when Librarian of Congress James H. Billington added their sound recordings—along with 21 others—to the National Recording Registry. (See story on page 75.) Under the terms of the National Recording Preservation Act of 2000, the Librarian is responsible for annually selecting recordings for the registry that are at least 10 years old and are "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant."
Number 16 in the 2006 National Recording Registry: "The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart," (1960)
Jeffrey Brown of NewsHour interviewed Billington on the new selections and the importance of preserving them. "We're trying to preserve the creativity of the American people, in all its richness and variety, all formats," said Billington. "We're trying to save it for future generations, as a big part of the American story."
On the selection of Sam Cooke's "A Change is Gonna Come," Billington said, "It was a moving sort of anthem of the civil rights movement, written and sung in an original style. And like so many of these things, it's important to remember and hear it."
Susan Logue of Voice of America spoke with Eugene DeAnna, head of the recorded sound section at the Library, who discussed some of the "surprising" selections to the registry, like Carl Perkins' recording of "Blue Suede Shoes."
"Each recording on the list can bring dozens of others to mind that are of similar stature and significance but should elicit questions and concerns about what is being done to save these sounds for posterity," said DeAnna.
Dan Harris with ABC News Now featured several clips from the registry, such as Allen Ginsberg reading his poem "Howl" which many considered obscene when it was first published in 1957, and Paul Simon performing "You Can Call Me Al" from his "Graceland" album.
The Independent in London took a look at past recording registry additions, including those of its inaugural year. In 2002, the first-ever recording of "Stars and Stripes Forever" joined ranks with Martin Luther King's landmark civil rights speech "I Have a Dream."
Natasha Metzler of the Associated Press interviewed Steve Leggett, coordinator of the National Recording Preservation Board, who discussed the importance of getting the public involved in nominating recordings—a task typically left for the Librarian. "They [the public] can come up with some very different ideas," he said, mentioning two public nominations that made it on the list last year: recordings of a foghorn in the Midwest and a high school marching band from Modesto, Calif.
Picking up Metzler's story were the Newark Star-Ledger in New Jersey, Chattanooga Times Free Press, Philadelphia Inquirer, The Times Union in New York, International Herald Tribune, ABC News10 in California, WIS TV-Ch. 10 in South Carolina and Web sites andnetwork.com, antimusic.com and washingtonpost.com. USA Today online ran the AP story along with an audio montage of a select number of the newly added sound recordings.
Stories about the registry also appeared in All Headline News, Broadcast News, the Modesto Bee in California, Hindustan Times, Washington Times, Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette in Indiana, The Times in London, The Guardian in London, Chicago Tribune, World Entertainment News Network, The Hamilton Spectator in Ontario, CBC News in Canada, Kent News in the U.K., Information Outlook, Daily Variety, New Musical Express, Jet, Essence and Web sites femalefirst.co.uk, starpulse.com and entertainmentwise.com.
Considered most newsworthy was the Librarian's assessment of the impact of the fiscal 2007 budget (operating under a continuing resolution) on the Library's National Digital Information and Preservation Program (NDIIPP). According to the Librarian, this program to preserve information that exists only in electronic form would sustain a loss of $84 million—$47 million in direct funding and $37 million in potential matching funds. Urging Congress to "provide funding to allow NDIIPP to complete its essential work on behalf of the nation," Billington said, "At risk is not only the work of partners across the nation but essential infrastructure and content for the Library's mission to serve Congress."
Washington Times reporter Ann Geracimos observed that "Digital information—much of it of value to historians—is fast disappearing in our electronically charged world." In her front page story in the Business Section of The New York Times, Katie Hafner lamented that institutions such as the Library of Congress, the National Archives, and academic and public libraries can digitize only a fraction of their holdings. "Money, technology and copyright complications are huge impediments," she observed.
