Preservation and Access: Digitizing Rare and Fragile Components of the Country Music Foundation Archive

FAIN: PW-51496-13

Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum (Nashville, TN 37203-4206)
Lee Boulie (Project Director: July 2012 to April 2016)

The preservation and provision of intellectual access to three collections documenting the history of country music in America: 1) Bob Pinson Recorded Sound Collection, 2) Moving Image Collection: Bobby Bare and Friends, and 3) Photo Collection: Fabry Still Image Collection.

The Country Music Foundation (CMF) requests a grant of $347,132 over a two-year period. The purpose of the project is to preserve and increase access to three rare and endangered collections integral to the history of country music in America. This project is a critical step in a major digitization initiative to preserve museum collections and access them through a digital asset management system. Once transferred, the original source materials from this project will be stored according to best practices for conservation in climate-controlled vaults currently under construction. Three collections have been selected by as the first and most urgent collections for digitization based on their rarity, fragility, number of access requests, and historical importance: Bob Pinson Recorded Sound Collection--Rare and unique acetate and vinyl transcriptions discs; Moving Image Collection--Bobby Bare and Friends; and Photo Collection--Fabry Image Collection.