Library of Congress Recorded Sound Section and the Performing Arts Library

Address:  James Madison Building, LM-113
101 Independence Ave., SE
Washington, DC 20540

When:  August 11, 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

Details:  Tour; 30 people per group (tours split into two groups of 15); register in advance

About:  The Performing Arts Reading Room is the access point for the vast and diverse collections in the custody of the Music Division at the Library of Congress, with approximately 20.5 million items that span more than 1,000 years of Western music history and practice. Holdings include the classified music and book collections, music and literary manuscripts, periodicals, musical instruments, published and unpublished copyright deposits, and close to 500 special collections in music, theater, and dance. The Recorded Sound Reference Center provides access to the nation’s largest public collection of sound recordings containing music, spoken word, and radio broadcasts, nearly 3 million recordings in all. More than 110 years of sound recording history is represented in nearly every audio format, from cylinders to CDs, covering a wide range of subjects and genres. The holdings complement the field recordings of the American Folklife Center and the moving image collections served in the Motion Picture and Television Reading Room.

Contact:  Karen Fishman, Dee Gallo, www.loc.gov/rr/perform, www.loc.gov/rr/record