Jazz Archives in the United States

by Fitzgerald, Michael

The jazz archive is a unique hybrid that combines elements of a music library, sound archives, and black studies center, as well as a traditional manuscripts collection. It has been greatly affected by both the evolution of the field of jazz studies as well as recent trends in libraries and archives. This study examines what institutional management perceives as the current challenges facing jazz archives in America and how these are being addressed. Five case studies of significant repositories in the United States (Institute of Jazz Studies at Rutgers University, Hogan Jazz Archive at Tulane University, Chicago Jazz Archive at University of Chicago, Felix E. Grant Jazz Archives at University of the District of Columbia, and Los Angeles Jazz Institute) were based on telephone interviews with the archives directors. Patrons, staff, collection development, institutional affiliation and funding, description and access, preservation, communication and outreach, and inter-institutional cooperation are addressed.