Suomen äänitearkisto’s collection of 78 rpm records

Recording archive association Suomen äänitearkisto ry has collected Finnish 78 rpm records since 1966. The collection is a unique part of Finnish cultural heritage. The collection’s records span the entire history of gramophone record production (1901–1961). Over the years, the collection has been added to, and it is now nearly perfect with more than 10,000 records. All records in the collection are original gramophone records published in Finland or for Finland. The collection includes records that are the only known copies and records (test discs, instantaneous discs) of which only one copy was ever produced. Records that are missing from the collection have not yet been discovered by anyone. As such, the nearly perfect collection of Finnish 78 rpm records is internationally unique as a national collection of records.

The collection work included the study of all Finnish audio record discographies published before 1980, representing comprehensive and extensive research work by Suomen äänitearkisto ry. The latest national discography was published by Suomen äänitearkisto in 2012, and it covers all Finnish audio records published in 1901–1961. Work related to the collection’s recordings is still ongoing, and the gramophone period (1901–1961) is a particular area of focus.

In addition to printed discographies, the reviewed information has also been compiled into the Fenno database of Finnish recordings, currently managed by Music Archive Finland. It is of particular importance to the study of Finnish culture that the historical recordings of the nation’s artists are archived and available for both research and commercial use. Fields of research such as the study of popular music use published records as their most important source.

The collection’s records are stored by Music Archive Finland in conditions compliant with the regulations governing the archive facilities of the National Archives. All records in the collection have been digitised, and the digital archive copies are stored in the Digital Preservation Service for Cultural Heritage. Music Archive Finland’s personnel have plenty of experience and great expertise related to the handling and digitisation of audio records.

Music Archive Finland’s management of digital material has been awarded the CoreTrustSeal certification. Music Archive Finland owns all audio records in its collection. Therefore, in accordance with the Finnish Copyright Act, it has the right to provide the compositions stored on the records for use in research or private studies in the institution’s premises. The archive premises have a research room that contains all the equipment necessary for the playback of the audio records and digitised recordings. Additionally, the archive includes an extensive reference library for use by researchers.