When William Faulkner was writer-in-residence at the University of Virginia, two English faculty members followed him around recording his numerous appearances on reel-to-reel tape.
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As writer-in-residence at U.Va. in 1957 and 1958, Faulkner spoke to classes as well as university and community groups.
About 40,000 feet of tapes of his readings and Q&A sessions were archived. The library began digitizing the tapes, which were in danger of deterioration, about a decade ago.
The tapes owe their existence to English professors Frederick Gwynn and Joseph Blotner, who carried a reel-to-reel tape recorder to most of Faulkner's appearances. (Most of the sessions took place in Rouss Hall in a windowless room that Faulkner called "the black hole of Calcutta.")
About 40,000 feet of tapes were archived, first by the English department and then by the U.Va. Library. More than a decade ago, the library staff began digitizing the tapes, which were in danger of deterioration.
The archive is the result of years of work and a fortunate confluence of forces. Railton and Michael Plunkett, a fellow of the library's Mary and David Harrison Institute for History, Literature and Culture and former director of special collections, received support from two library-based groups dedicated to digital scholarship at U.Va.: SHANTI, which focuses on advanced technologies in the sciences, humanities and arts; and the Scholars' Lab, which provides consultation on digital humanities and social science projects. Members of the Faulkner family also supported the project.
Plunkett said the project combined the traditional functions of a library with modern technology. "We maintained and preserved the tapes, but they were virtually unusable," he said. "So it was the modern technology of digitization and the Internet that made this possible."
Bethany Nowviskie, director of digital research and scholarship, said that preservation of the recordings is only part of the archive's value. All of the audio is transcribed and presented in small, searchable segments, providing what she calls "persistent access" to scholars and students. Users are able to bookmark and point to specific clips.
"It's a great tool for reaching into classrooms," she said. "We hope to see a lot of educational use."
And the architecture of the site "is an approach we can use in the future," she said, crediting Wayne Graham, head of research and development for digital research and scholarship, and the Scholars' Lab staff.
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