Collections

Manuscript Collections

The Center holds more than 300 manuscript collections totaling approximately 200 linear feet of primary research material. Although the literal meaning of manuscript is 'handwritten,' the Center’s manuscript collections include different types of material, such as unpublished written records, photographs, scrapbooks, news clippings, drafts of books and articles, financial records, and printed works. In addition, they may also contain original sound and visual recordings, for example, sound discs, audio cassettes, reel-to-reel recordings, CDs, VHS cassettes, DVDs, floppy disks, among others. The collection also includes examples of early American 'handwritten' manuscript music volumes. Manuscript collections may focus on an individual (Ray Avery Collection), an event (Crossroads Conference Materials), or a specialized topic (Southern Gospel Convention Singing Collection).

Access is provided to all manuscript collections through Finding Aids, which provide an overview of the collection as well as box and folder listings of the contents. Since some collections consist of hundreds of items, finding aids can help researchers narrow the focus of their research. The manuscript collections may be searched in the Center’s Manuscript Collections database, which includes links to each collection's finding aid.

Search Manuscript Collections

The Center’s more notable manuscript collections include:

The Brad McCuen Collection

Recording industry executive, record label owner, and consultant

The Bill Harrison Collection

Materials documenting the Tennessee Valley Old Time Fiddlers Association

Billy Carter's Minstrel Scrapbook

Materials, primarily assembled by Billy Carter himself, documenting his career as a banjo minstrel performer in the 1800s.

The Charles W. McMillan ASCAP BMI War Scrapbook

Materials documenting "the music war" between ASCAP and BMI, November 1940-July 1941, over licensing fees for the use of music on radio networks.

Center for Popular Music
 
P.O. Box 41
Middle Tennessee State University
Murfreesboro, TN 37132
 
615-898-2449
615-898-5829 (fax)
ctrpopmu@mtsu.edu
 
Room 140, Bragg Mass Communications Bldg.