Visual sound works from imaginary archives (part 1)

Paul Wilson and Eva del Rey, co-curators of Listen: 140 Years of Recorded Sound present: Since 2016 the British Library sound archive has been hosting show-and-tell and listening sessions for students from the Graphic and Communication Design department at Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts. This year we offered…




The value of mixed media collections

The sound archive is home to over 250,000 wildlife and environmental sound recordings. Over 100,000 of these document the vocalisations of birds, while the sounds of other animal groups, such as mammals and fish, along with a growing collection of soundscapes, make up the rest. The collection covers both terrestrial…




Oral History and the Library of Ideas

How can I use oral history in creative ways?




Recording of the week: Debussy year

This week’s selection comes from Jonathan Summers, Curator of Classical Music Recordings. Claude Debussy died 100 years ago. Here is a recording made during his lifetime in 1915. It is a movement from his only String Quartet recorded by the London String Quartet. Debussy String Quartet – Andante Claude Debussy…




Linguistics at the Library – Episode 8

PhD placement students, Andrew Booth and Rowan Campbell write: Have you ever wondered how linguistic researchers find people to interview? In this final episode, Andrew and Rowan discuss the methods they use to carry out their research on the Isle of Man and Cardiff, and how these are different to…