The CBC is getting rid of its physical music collections in Vancouver and other sites across the country, a treasure trove of over 100,000 artifacts amassed over decades. Valuable, rare and historic recordings on vinyl and tape will be destroyed or dispersed, lost to all of us forever. The stated plan is to digitalize some recordings, but the timeline for disposal in one fashion or another does not allow anywhere near an adequate appraisal of the provenance or cultural worth of each artifact. Many of these recordings were rare to begin with and are impossible to acquire in any format today. Thousands were donated by erudite collectors and hosts. Album covers and liner notes will disappear. (For more information, see: http://cbcradiotwoandme.blogspot.com/2012/01/coming-to-garage-sale-near-you-cbcs.html and http://www.montrealgazette.com/entertainment/planning+record/6135746/story.html.) The quality of future radio and television broadcasts will be impoverished by this loss of both informational and music resources. Moreover, digitalized music does not accurately represent nor compare in quality to that etched in vinyl, which is why many musicians have resumed putting out vinyl releases. The CBC, as our national broadcaster and historical purveyor of radio since its advent in this country, has an obligation to act as the protective custodian of these physical recordings. We, the undersigned, call on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation to stop its dismantling of this historic and invaluable collection and to resume its role as curator of this cultural heritage, for future generations.

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