British Library Sound Archive, National sound repository at British Library, London, United Kingdom
The British Library Sound Archive is a sound repository in London holding over 6.5 million recordings including music, spoken word, oral histories, and wildlife sounds. The collection spans different formats and recording sources from historical to contemporary material.
The collection began in 1905 when the British Museum started gathering audio recordings of notable figures, with early contributions from the Gramophone Company starting in 1906. From these origins grew one of the world's largest sound collections.
The archive holds recordings spanning classical music to radio broadcasts, spoken languages, and animal sounds from different periods. These collections show how sounds and voices document and shape history across generations.
Access is available at a location on Euston Road in London with regular opening hours for visitors. The archive provides various ways to listen to and explore its collections, though registration may be required.
The Save Our Sounds program was established in 2015 to digitize at-risk recordings in British sound archives and create a national radio archive. This initiative preserves fleeting audio materials that could otherwise be lost.
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