Lecture Highlights UCSB Davidson Library’s Special Collections

Among its holdings are approximately 250,000 volumes, 16,000 linear feet of manuscripts, 100,000 photographs, and more than 200,000 early sound recordings. They are contained in five major areas, including the Rare Books, Manuscripts, and Named Collections; the California Ethnic and Multicultural Archives; the Performing Arts Collections; the UCSB Oral History Program; and the University Archives.

David Seubert, acting head of special collections, will discuss the department’s extensive holdings at a UCSB Affiliates lecture on Wednesday, February 29. The title of his talk is “Treasures from UCSB’s Special Collections: The Miracle of Recorded Sound and Other Hidden Gems.”

The lecture begins at 5 p.m. at the University Club, 1332 Santa Barbara St. Admission is $10. Advance registration is recommended by calling the UCSB Office of Public Events at (805) 893-2877.

In addition to managing the library’s extensive holdings, Seubert has curated the Performing Arts Collection since 1998, and in that capacity manages the performing arts archives and the recorded sound collections. He is director of the Cylinder Presentation and Digitization Project, the library’s online collection of early sound recordings; and the Encyclopedic discography of Victor Recordings. Both are internationally recognized projects that make sound recordings more widely accessible to scholars and to the public.

Seubert has degrees in music from Oberlin College, and in library and information studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he has taught courses in audiovisual archives management. A past president of the Association for Recorded Sound Collections, Seubert has consulted on audio preservations issues for several professional organizations.