GaryAllyn's RadiOpinion

   Effort to preserve radio history starts in Missouri

I saw this article in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and thought it quite worthy of notice to publish
here by calling attention to having us all try to become involved. There are many "archives" out
there on the internet and such, but this seems to be a NATIONAL effort in conjunction with the
Library Of Congress..and could be very worthwhile to keep our history alive for future generations.

 Missouri will host the pilot project for an initiative to make radio history available through a national archive. Here is some of the text from the Post Dispatch:

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch (http://bit.ly/2d3tgVy ) reports that the Radio Preservation Task Force, overseen by the Library of Congress, is collecting and cataloging radio recordings. Missouri is the pilot in part because of preservation efforts already made in St. Louis and Kansas City.
Task force director Josh Sheppard says there has never previously been a concerted effort by one federal institution to trace old recordings.

"We realized pretty quickly that at least 75 percent of recorded radio has been discarded or destroyed," he said.
The group is hoping to have 1.8 million to 2.5 million recordings identified by 2020. Digitizing efforts will follow, as money and time allow.
Mark Gordon, president and CEO of the Missouri Broadcasters Association, which has members from about 380 stations, said the association has reached out to all of them, seeking recordings.

"Radio broadcasting brings communities together," Gordon said. "It's how they learn about one another. There is a nostalgia for people who grew up with it, but for some who haven't experienced it, they hear this is what it was like."

"People can read what was in a newspaper, but if you want to hear the voices of people making the news, or you want to hear the sound of that event, there is nothing, unless this archive can be put together".

"We have to grab what's left out there and get a hold of it".

I think it behooves us to contact the task force director Josh Sheppard mentioned above, to see how
we can participate in this much needed collection of radio history. It certainly would be nice to know that those of us who "labored" in the broadcast profession over the years would leave the knowledge
to show future generations about OUR Golden Age of Radio. That's my RadiOpinion-what's yours?