Hundreds of residents walk through San Ramon Library's sliding doors every day, but few know that housed in those familiar brick walls is one of the largest publicly accessible jazz collections, chronicling a sound that has connected generations.
The San Ramon Library boasts 3,513 items in circulation that range from classic films and books to hundreds of CDs. Albums like Dizzy Gillespie's bebop and "Norah Jones Live in New Orleans" showcase modern and timeless sound.
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One of the most pressing issues facing this collection is the need to digitize precious materials like [Louis] Armstrong's signature and reel-to-reel tapes that would otherwise disinigrate over time.
"There's a wealth of material here that would be great for the public to have access to, especially people who are doing research on jazz, or teaching classes on jazz, or students taking classes," says [library branch manager Joyce] Gunn. "But it's a matter of making it into a format that is accessible."
The digitization of this collection will require applying for grants, which can be a time-consuming process. However, digitizing the collection will make the materials more accessible to the general public, and also will take up less space.
In the meantime, the catalogued collection of jazz materials are accessible to library patrons outside the local community. Through the Link library system, items can be requested and sent to libraries across the country for individuals looking for specific titles. This allows the collection to circulate across the national jazz community.
The article also includes a section about how the library began its large collection of jazz recordings.
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