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Guide to the Rigler-Deutsch Index Computer Tapes
ARS.0105
ARS.0105
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Title: Rigler-Deutsch Index Computer Tapes
Date: 1985
Collection number: ARS.0105
Collection size:
2 boxes
: 31 computer tapes
Repository:
Archive of Recorded Sound
Abstract: Computer tapes containing data from the Rigler and Deutsch Index of Recorded Sound (RDI), a union catalog of 78-rpm disc holdings
from several major research libraries, including the Stanford Archive of Recorded Sound.
Language of Material: English
Open for research; material must be requested at least two business days in advance of intended use. Contact the Archive for
assistance.
Property rights reside with repository. Publication and reproduction rights reside with the creators or their heirs. To obtain
permission to publish or reproduce, please contact the Head Librarian of the Archive of Recorded Sound.
Rigler-Deutsch Index Computer Tapes, ARS-0105. Courtesy of the Stanford Archive of Recorded Sound, Stanford University Libraries,
Stanford, Calif.
This finding aid was produced with generous financial support from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.
The Rigler and Deutsch Index of Recorded Sound (RDI) was a union catalog of 78-rpm discs in the sound recording collections
at five different Association of Research Libraries institutions: the Library of Congress Motion Picture, Broadcasting, and
Recorded Sound Division; the Rodgers and Hammerstein Archives of Recorded Sound at the New York Public Library; Syracuse University's
Belfer Audio Laboratory and Archive; the Yale Collection of Historical Sound Recordings; and the Stanford Archive of Recorded
Sound. The index was distributed to ARL members beginning in 1984, and was available on microform or on the Research Libraries
Information Network (RLIN).
Contained in this collection are thirty-one 10.5" reel IBM and Memorex brand computer tapes holding title, composer, performer,
label, record number, and matrix number information on approximately 615,000 disc recordings. The labels of these discs were
photographed, resulting in 1,230,000 microfilm images. There is little identifying information on the reels, outside of the
dates 7/21/1985, 7/31/1985, and 8/1/1985. These tapes are notable as artifacts, even if they are never read by a machine again.
Although the RDI's flaws are evident today (little authority control, inexperienced data entry, etc.), the project was a landmark
accomplishment and established the possibility of a cooperative catalog for a given medium. The Archive of Recorded Sound
also maintains its microform version of the Rigler-Deutsch Index.
Lloyd E. Rigler and Lawrence E. Deutsch were philanthropists and partners in a successful business. Deutsch was also a record
collector, and when he passed away in 1977, he left his estate to their Foundation. Meanwhile, in 1974 planning for a union
catalog was initiated by the Associated Audio Archives of the Association for Recorded Sound Collections (ARSC), and work
began on the project in 1981. Rigler underwrote the effort, with additional support from the National Endowment for the Humanities,
the Hewlett Foundation, and the Ledler Foundation. By 1984 a set of microfilm and indexes were distributed. Free access to
the index was possible at the five participating libraries. Several years ago, there was discussion of reviving the RDI and
combining it with the American Vintage Record Labelography (AVRL) project. Unfortunately no further developments have been
reported.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Sound recordings--Catalogs