National Recording Registry Adds 25 New Entries

On the tenth anniversary of the National Recording Registry, Librarian of Congress James Billington has selected 25 sound recordings as the official entries for 2011, stating: "America’s sound heritage is an important part of the nation’s history and culture and this year’s selections reflect the diversity and creativity of the American experience."

In chronological order, the selections are as follows:

1. Edison Talking Doll cylinder (1888)
2. "Come Down Ma Evenin’ Star," Lillian Russell (1912)
3. "Ten Cents a Dance," Ruth Etting (1930)
4. "Voices from the Days of Slavery," Various speakers (1932-1941 interviews; 2002 compilation)
5. "I Want to Be a Cowboy's Sweetheart," Patsy Montana (1935)
6. "Fascinating Rhythm," Sol Hoopii and his Novelty Five (1938)
7. "Artistry in Rhythm," Stan Kenton & and his Orchestra (1943)
8. Debut performance with the New York Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein (Nov. 14, 1943)
9. International Sweethearts of Rhythm: Hottest Women’s Band of the 1940s (1944-1946)
10. "The Indians for Indians Hour" (March 25, 1947)
11. "Hula Medley," Gabby Pahinui (1947)
12. "I Can Hear It Now," Fred W. Friendly and Edward R. Murrow (1948)
13. "Let’s Go Out to the Programs," The Dixie Hummingbirds (1953)
14. "Also Sprach Zarathustra," Fritz Reiner and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (1954, 1958)
15. "Bo Diddley" and "I’m a Man," Bo Diddley (1955)
16. "Green Onions," Booker T. & the M.G.’s (1962)
17. "Forever Changes," Love (1967)
18. "The Continental Harmony: Music of William Billings," Gregg Smith Singers (1969)
19. "A Charlie Brown Christmas," Vince Guaraldi Trio (1970)
20. "Coat of Many Colors," Dolly Parton (1971)
21. "Mothership Connection," Parliament (1975)
22.  Barton Hall concert by the Grateful Dead (May 8, 1977)
23. "I Feel Love," Donna Summer (1977)
24. "Rapper's Delight," Sugarhill Gang (1979)
25. "Purple Rain," Prince and the Revolution (1984)

The full National Recording Registry currently numbers 350 recordings, and can be viewed here. The Registry solicits nominations for inclusion on the registry; further information on the criteria and procedures for making nominations is available at the Registry website. 

 

A Tribute to Morris L. Cohen

The Law Library Journal, the main publication of the American Association of Law Libraries, recently devoted the entirety of its Winter 2012 issue to the remarkable life and work of legal scholar, bibliographer, and librarian, Morris L. Cohen [1927-2010]. Cohen died on December 18, 2010, with an obituary appearing in the New York Times; the newspaper also published an editorial appreciation extolling Cohen's career.

The articles appearing in Law Library Journal, with links to PDFs, are titled as follows:

— Introduction
— Morris L. Cohen, 1927-2010: A Remembrance and Celebration
— In Praise of Morris L. Cohen's Bibliography of Early American Law
— Morris L. Cohen: A Reminiscence
— Memories of Morris—and How I Use His BEAL 
— Morris Cohen and Rare Book School
— Morris Cohen and the Art of Book Collecting
— Cornerstones for Enduring Law Libraries: Morris Cohen's Influence at Yale
— Birth of a Nutshell: Morris Cohen in the 1960s
— The End of Scholarly Bibliography: Reconceptualizing Law Librarianship
— Appeals to the Privy Council Before American Independence: An Annotated Digital Catalogue
— Blackstone and Bibliography: In Memoriam Morris Cohen
— Booksellers in Court: Approaches to the Legal History of Copyright in England Before 1842
— Practicing Reference . . . "That Most Congenial Lawyer/Bibliographer"
— Reflections: An Interview with Morris L. Cohen
— Morris L. Cohen: A Bibliography of His Works
— Keeping Up with New Legal Titles

The Common Curator was fortunate to have known Morris while working in the antiquarian book trade and as a curator of rare law books. A true scholar-librarian and gentleman, he exemplified the very best qualities of the book world, the likes of which are indeed rarely encountered.

Note: The photograph above appeared in the Law Library Journal courtesy of the Cohen family.

Letterpress Guild of New England Exhibition

In celebration of the 30th Anniversary of its founding in 1982, the Letterpress Guild of New England is mounting an exhibition "to educate, entertain, and inform the public," and is soliciting entries of letterpress posters and broadsides through June 15, 2012. For further details and an entry form, visit the LGNE website. Call for entries poster designed by the Interrobang Press.

Support Chapel Hill Public Library

The Friends of the Chapel Hill Public Library are sponsoring a fundraiser for the Library, which is currently undergoing a major expansion project. For a donation of $150, the Friends will include an engraved paver in Friends Plaza at the front of the Library in time for its reopening in early 2013:

Your paver will be a long lasting public tribute to whoever is named and the money will be used for an otherwise unfunded need in the new library. Pavers are being sold by the Friends of the Chapel Hill Public Library, a membership organization dedicated to supporting library needs not covered by the town’s budget. Friends’ gifts are used to support children’s programming, the Library’s collection and other special projects.

320 pavers are being offered to the public until the deadline of August 31, 2012. Further details and an application form are available on the Friends' website.

Note: Image of the planned expansion by Corley Redfoot Architects.