Sources for research on Polish phonography since 1878 till present days – a bibliographic project of the Sound Libraries Section of the SBP
The task of the Sources for research on Polish phonography since 1878 till present days was carried out by the Sound Libraries Section of the Association of Polish Librarians on the basis of agreements concluded with the Ministry of Science and Higher Education in 2016-2017 (agreement 915/P-DUN/2016), in 2019-2020 (agreement 839/P-DUN/2019), in 2021-2022 (agreement SONP/SN/514674/2021) and in 2023-2024 (agreement POPUL/SN/0322/2023/01 as part of the program „Społeczna odpowiedzialność nauki II – Popularyzacja nauki”) program.
The bibliography is the first in the country and in the world registration of publications and unpublished scientific works devoted to Polish and Polish diaspora music and non-music recordings (composers, authors and performers), as well as Polish record companies operating in the historical territory of Poland. It also takes into account phonographic texts, including issues of recording technology and the music industry prepared by Polish authors or published in Polish. The work covers a period from the patenting of the Thomas Edison phonograph, the world's first device for recording and reproducing sound, to modern achievements in the field of sound and film music recordings.
The goal of the project is to collect source material for research on Polish culture, focusing on general cultural and historical topics (e.g. the Polish phonographic industry, activities of Polish record companies), musicology (e.g. musical performance, biographies of Polish musicians, repertoires of audio publications) or topics related to the area of cultural sociology (e.g. reception of phonographic recordings). As well as scientists and students, the audience of the work may include other professionals or amateurs concerned with music and sound recordings, e.g. educators, music lovers, collectors, etc.
The bibliography at the end of 2024 has 28,000 descriptions. The adopted form in which the project is presented allows for its continuation.
The Sound Libraries Section of the Polish Librarians’ Association