1. About the Database
Smithsonian Global Sound for Libraries, produced in partnership with Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, is a virtual encyclopedia of the world's musical and aural traditions. The collection provides educators, students, and interested listeners with an unprecedented variety of online resources that support the creation, continuity, and preservation of diverse musical forms.
It includes the published recordings owned by the non-profit Smithsonian Folkways Recordings label and the archival audio collections of the legendary Folkways Records, Cook, Dyer-Bennet, Fast Folk, Monitor, Paredon and other labels. It also includes music recorded around the African continent by Dr. Hugh Tracey for the International Library of African Music (ILAM) at Rhodes University as well as material collected by recordists on the South Asian subcontinent from the Archive Research Centre for Ethnomusicology (ARCE), sponsored by the American Institute for Indian Studies.
Smithsonian Folkways Recordings is dedicated to strengthening people's engagement with their own cultural heritage and enhancing awareness and appreciation of the cultural heritage of others through the dissemination of audio recordings and educational materials. The Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage’s mission is to promote the understanding and continuity of diverse, contemporary grassroots cultures.
2. Acknowledgements
At Alexander Street Press, the following people have been instrumental in the development of the collection:
- Christina Chamberlain
- David Vaughn
- Greg Knapp
- Joanna Koslowsky
- John Field
- Liz Dutton
- Paul Dixon
- Shauna Kreidler
- Tim Lloyd
- Ziep Truong