The National Jazz Archive at Loughton Library is asking for help to keep its archive rolling. The epidemic has meant it has had to cancel its fundraising concerts, putting in jeopardy its work in preserving historic jazz material and maintaining its free online catalogue.
The archive – principally of British jazz history – has custody of the personal archives of musician and writer John Chilton and journalist Les Tomkins, who produced numerous interviews for Crescendo magazine and others. The NJA’s volunteers have begun processing the material but need the help of a professional archivist to efficiently evaluate the collections, preserve the books, letters, photographs and more.
Eventually the collections will be stored to professional archive standards, and will be preserved for future generations with the material digitised and made accessible to the public online.
The archive asks that people help it preserve the UK’s jazz history by donating – a single amount or a regular donation. They say £25 will provide four archival containers, £200 will fund around 500 specialist polyester pockets, and £3,000 will help fund a part-time project archivist.
Paul Kaufman, chair of the NJA’s trustees said: “A large or small donation will make a difference in this difficult year and you’ll be doing something for jazz in return.”
Donations to the NJA can be made by clicking the button below.
