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WGS Newsletters at the Library of Congress

The Library of Congress now has a complete set of Washington Guitar Society newsletters from No. 1 (September 1992) through No. 65 (September 2003). While they politely declined my request to build a new wing for the collection, or at least install a fancy case for it where everybody walks in, they were very appreciative. They wrote,

"The Library is delighted to have the complete run of your newsletter. While we are national in scope, it is good that we can offer local materials as well, especially our hometown."

Patricia Baughman, reference librarian in the music division, spelled out what's in store for the newsletters. She has "forwarded the issues to the cataloging section of Serial Record There it will be officially accessioned and a cataloging record completed. This means a record is generated which will eventually show up in the on-line catalog. I have no way of knowing how long this process may take, it depends on the work flow and how many other titles are ahead of it in the queue. Then, when it returns to me, I will prepare it for binding and six weeks after it gets to the bindery it will be returned to Music Division and be ready for use."

I think everyone who has had a hand in the newsletter over the years has a right to feel proud. If you're going to end up in a library somewhere, LC is a tough act to beat.

Looking at it from "the glass is half empty" point of view, I admit to a touch of disappointment that there was never any support for my idea that the newsletter document all known guitar performances, WGS and non-WGS, in the Washington area by printing the concert programs. How interesting that would be in the here and now, and how fascinating for future music historians. And what a great "equalizer" - your own open stage performance could have appeared right beside a Pepe Romero program, and who from the year 2525 would know the difference?

Still, the WGS newsletter has always been in a class by itself. No brag; just fact.

Donald Sauter

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