The Recorded Sound Section of the Library of Congress accepts donations of both commercial and non-commercial sound recordings in all audio formats. The Library considers many factors before accepting a donation. There are over 3,000,000 items in the collection, and the Library must avoid unnecessary duplication. Our holdings include most musical genres with particular strength in opera, chamber music, musical theater, popular and classical music. This means only a few of your commercial recordings may be of interest to the Library.

We are particularly interested in rare or unique recordings. Non-commercial recordings of music, spoken word, oral history and radio broadcasts may also be of interest. The Library also prefers recordings as close to the original source as possible. If your collection includes unpublished ethnographic sound recordings, please contact the American Folklife Center.

The Library strives to collect recordings in the best possible condition, so we must also take into account the condition of all items. Other considerations for selection of recordings for the collections can be found in our Collections Policy Statement for sound recordings.

If you are interested in donating to the Recorded Sound Section, please send an e-mail to the Recorded Sound Reference Center. In your message provide the following information:

• Your name
• Your address
• Your phone number
• For small collections or single items, please include: title or description of the item(s) you wish to donate. Include artist, record label, issue number and an approximate count of the total number of items in your collection.
• For larger collections, please provide us with a complete inventory or a representative sampling of 10-20 random items. Include title, artist, record label, issue number and an approximate count of the total number of items you wish to donate.
• General physical condition, noting obvious wear, scratches and other issues.

You may also send us written correspondence to

Sound Donations
Library of Congress
19053 Mt. Pony Road
Culpeper, VA 22701.

Once we have received your correspondence, we will review it and contact you.

Thank you.