You can listen to an exciting variety of material via our Listening and Viewing Service, such as music (including pop, world and traditional, and classical genres), accents and dialects, wildlife, radio broadcasts, interviews and performances of drama and literature. These recordings originate from material that was broadcast, privately recorded, or published commercially, and encompasses a wide range of audio-visual formats.
You can search the collection through the Sound and Moving Image catalogue, where you can also find a range of BBC material. Find guidance for how to search the catalogue here.
In order to preserve our collections for future generations, we cannot give access to recordings in their original formats. Instead, we need to make copies of requested items before access can be arranged. This process can take up to 8 – 10 weeks. Please note that every request is individually assessed by our team, and sometimes access cannot be facilitated due to conservation concerns.
Our Sound and Vision Reference Team is here to help you navigate the library resources effectively to find the information you need. To arrange access to a recording and book a free listening appointment, get in touch with our Sound and Vision Reference Team via our contact form. If your enquiry is related to a specific collection item, please add the title and shelfmark into the ‘Your research question’ box (example, Title: Children’s Laureate Talk Malorie Blackman, Shelfmark: C1963/15/280).
Our team is currently experiencing a high number of enquiries, so we are only able to accept requests for up to 12 items. Please contact us if you have any questions or concerns. We aim to respond to all enquiries within 10 working days.
The sound archive’s open shelves are located in the Humanities 2 Reading Room at our London St Pancras location. This material includes journals and periodicals, printed reference materials and monographs, and BBC catalogues on microfiche.