Audible Archives

Amid ongoing digitization efforts and increasing audiovisual production at the CCA, Audible Archives is an exploration of sound recordings in the collection. Reflecting the historical visual bias of architecture, most of the CCA’s holdings consist of prints and drawings—some dating back to the fifteenth century—and photography, dating from the invention of the medium onward. By comparison, audio media form a smaller and less stable category, even as sound technology has developed rapidly over the past century and continued to evolve in the decades since the CCA’s founding. Formats including vinyl records, open-reel tapes, 8-track and compact cassettes, compact discs, and others are dispersed throughout the library and archives; however, issues such as obsolete equipment and copyright restrictions often limit access to these materials. 

Audible Archives presents samples of digitized recordings alongside silent artefacts, highlighting sound as a significant medium for research while drawing attention to the challenges of preservation and stewardship.