Last week the British Library launched Coast, a new web space dedicated to sounds and stories from Britain’s incredible coastline. Covering everything from superstitions and working conditions to wildlife and entertainment, this collection brings together field recordings, interview excerpts and music from across the sound archive. Many of these recordings…

This week’s selection comes from Nick Morgan, Audio Project Cataloguer for Unlocking our Sound Heritage. Joseph Sussman (1920-2013) was surrounded by music – literally: his house and garage were crammed full of 78s, LPs, CDs, reel-to-reel tapes, cassettes and videos. They vied for space with stacks of printed music and…

This week’s recording of the week comes from Holly Gilbert, Cataloguer of Digital Multimedia Collections. Gill and Deb have been friends for many years so when Deb split up with her partner during her first pregnancy she asked Gill to be her birth partner. Gill had already given birth to…

This week’s selection comes from Cheryl Tipp, Wildlife and Environmental Sounds Curator. In 1952 Japanese ornithologist Tsuruhiko Kabaya acquired his first tape recorder. This, as they say, was a game changer. For over a decade Kabaya had been diligently documenting the movements and behaviour of wild birds across Japan. He…

This week’s selection comes from Camille Johnston, Oral History Assistant Archivist. At the start of her career Helen Thomson (b. 1933) received some sound advice from a fellow ‘woman in the wine trade’. The wine world was dominated by men, and Thomson could name only two women among her peers:…