Syracuse University Library's Belfer Audio Archive now offers Web access to its collection of
cylinder sound recordings. Cylinders were the earliest form of commercially produced sound
recordings, popular from the late 1880s through the 1920s. Belfer's collection of 22,000
cylinders represents 12,000 unique titles and is the largest of any private institution in North
America. The collection includes a wide range of performances, including orchestral, vocal,
folk and dance music, as well as spoken word such as speeches, poetry and dramatic
readings.
The Belfer Cylinders Digital Connection, found at
http://library.syr.edu/information/belfer/cylinders, now contains about 300 items and will
eventually include 6,000 cylinder recordings that have not been available on the Internet
before. Recordings can be browsed by subject and genre. Search options include title,
performer, composer, time period, label and others.
Recordings are provided in both MP3 and WAV formats. The WAV files are larger in size
and represent the sound of the original recording as it was played. The MP3s are smaller and
have had extraneous sounds removed.
The Belfer Cylinders Digital Connection project was partially funded by a grant from the
Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation. The library welcomes additional financial contributions
to support the cylinder digitization project, as well as donations of cylinders.
Currently the fourth-largest sound archive in the country, the Belfer Archive holds more
than 340,000 items in a climate-controlled facility on campus. With funding provided by
Diane and Arthur B. Belfer and the Jon Ben Snow Memorial Trust, the Belfer Audio
Laboratory and Archive was the first building in the world designed and constructed
specifically for the preservation of recorded sound collections.
For more information on the Belfer Cylinders Digital Connection, contact Melinda Dermody
at mdermo01@syr.edu.
