The Giving Challenge is HERE!
CLICK HERE TO DOUBLE Your Gift.
Noon to noon April 9th thru 10th
After the Giving Challenge, there are four ways to support the Sarasota Music Archive.
You can click on the links below for more information:
1. Become a member.
2. Make a cash donation.
3. Donate music items. See Below:
4. Volunteer your time.
For membership information, click here.
To make a cash donation to the archive, click here.
To donate music items, please contact us via the contact page or phone us at 941-861-1168. We’ll need information about your items, including a general description, quantity of items, and overall condition. We are currently considering donations of vinyl records, cd’s, and other music-related items or memorabilia.
We do not currently accept tapes(cassette, reels, 8-track, etc.), 78 records, or sheet music. If you have an item we do not accept, but believe it is unique or exceptionally valuable for our archive, please still contact us.
If we accept your donation, we can arrange a time for you to drop it off at the library. In special cases, we can arrange to pick your items up. Please remember, our space and time to review donations is limited. We do not review donations to determine monetary value.
Please consider that we have a limited volunteer staff, and are very limited with our space, so please understand if we cannot accept your donation at this time.
Thank you for your support!
The Sarasota Music Archive is a non-profit 501 (c)3 organization. A COPY OF THE OFFICIAL REGISTRATION AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION AY BE OBTAINED FROM THE DIVISION OF CONSUMER SERVICE BY CALLING TOLL-FREE (800-435-7352) WITHIN THE STATE. REGISTRATION DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT, APPROVAL OR RECOMMENDATION BY THE STATE. REGISTRATION #: CH3079
The Sarasota Music Archive
to the Special Collections Department of the Selby Public Library. It is one of the leading reference collections in the field of music, containing an enviable cache of several hundred thousand recordings, tapes, sheet music, books, and memorabilia. Membership dues and private donations help to fund the archive.
We are currently accepting donations of
Originally established in 1980, the Archive was begun by a group of dedicated volunteers in a strip mall storefront. It soon grew large enough to move into its own building and eventually merged with the Selby Library in 2000.
The collection encompasses classical, opera, jazz, popular, folk, and international music, as well as video recordings. Recordings may be in the form of Edison wax cylinders, one or two-sided shellac disks, long-playing vinyl records, cassette tapes, 8-track tapes or compact discs.
There are several listening stations available where recordings can be perused. There are also special collections, such as the complete recordings of opera singer Enrico Caruso, the band music collection of Merle Evans, as well as thousands of hours of radio programs.
More than 40 volunteers donate hundreds of hours per month to run the Sarasota Music Archive. They are music lovers from various backgrounds including scholars, accountants, doctors, and musicians. Volunteers are responsible for cataloging the material and creating and maintaining the computer databases. They also stock the shelves, do mailings, answer the phones, plan programs and events, and provide assistance to the public.
Most of the recordings and sheet music have been donated. The Sarasota Music Archive raises money by selling donated materials that are not needed for the collection at very reasonable prices. The SMA is located on the second floor of the Selby Public Library at 1331 First Street in downtown Sarasota. It is open to the public Monday through Thursday from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Please note: the Archive is closed Fridays and Saturdays.