Gramophone machines and records are over 140 years old. During 1902 to 1985, over 300,000 gramophone records were issued in India. These were released on seventy five different labels and in various formats. The records were not in production and circulation during the 1980-2000, the era of audio cassettes and compact discs. However, over one hundred private collectors are engaged in collect¬ing old gramophone records, record players, open reel spool tapes, audio and video tapes, films and compact discs. They also collect textual material in the form of books, photographs, articles and catalogs. The Mumbai based ‘Society of Indian Record Collectors (SIRC)’ was formed in 1991 to bring together interested collectors for social communication. SIRC is working for the ‘Preservation, Dissemination and Documentation’ of rich cultural heritage in the field of audio and video recordings. Very recently, discs and machines are again back in the shops. Several outreach strategies and programs have evolved in the past twenty years. Annual Magazine of SIRC titled ‘The Record News’ and ‘Guided Listening Sessions’ are two noteworthy achievements. The process is ongoing. With the advent of internet technology, access has become easy through several social networking sites, links and web sites. Several new issues such as copyright and aesthetics have come up in new forms. This presentation will describe the role of individuals in general and SIRC in particular in the issue of access for all. It will be open for new concepts, ideas, suggestions and recommendations. Ultimate aim of SIRC is to create a network of collectors in realizing virtual archives of sound recordings.

Dr. Suresh Chandvankar (b.1952) is a retired scientist. He worked at Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, for 36 years, in the area of Semiconductor Physics. He is the editor of ‘The Record News’ - annual e-magazine of SIRC. [Please see: hindi-movies-songs.com/sirc/index-sirc.html]. He writes articles on record and presents guided listening sessions on recorded music. He also gives talks on the history of old gramophone records.