Radio-Canada has issued a final call for interest in its surplus vinyl records and CDs, ahead of its move into a new Montreal headquarters in 2020.
The collection includes an estimated 108,000 pieces, including 49,000 33 RPM, 19,000 45 RPM and 40,000 78 RPM records. Then there’s another 57,000 compact discs. Broken down by genre, it’s estimated to include 37 per cent classical recordings, 19 per cent French pop vocal, 17 per cent English pop vocal, 10 per cent instrumental, 10 per cent jazz and blues, six per cent folk, and one per cent other.
Community radio stations are among the groups the call for interest is open to, in addition to secondary or post-secondary educational institutions that offer specialized music instruction recognized by a provincial Department of Education; museums; public libraries; and non-profit organizations with a social mission.
Institutions interested in acquiring one or more portions of the inventory, as is and without charge, are invited to express their interest by completing the designated form here by Friday, Mar. 29.
Radio VM (CIRA-FM) Montreal has already acquired a large portion of Radio-Canada’s 33 RPM duplicate collection. The public broadcaster is keeping unique titles in an off-site storage facility to ensure long-term preservation of the collection, while maintaining access for production teams. Radio-Canada has also digitized its collection of unique CD titles, including booklets and liner notes, and will retain copies of rare CDs and Canadian titles, in addition to Radio-Canada productions.
Following two previous calls for interest last Fall, some 40 educational institutions, libraries and non-profit organizations took possession of about half of Radio-Canada’s inventory of books and periodicals, with the other half donated to Salvation Army Thrift Stores. In addition, a number of vintage props and furnishings that appeared in Radio-Canada productions will be preserved and showcased in a dozen museums across Quebec. Iconic items with heritage value have been donated to the Musée de la civilisation de Québec.
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