[78-L] Huh?

[Geoffrey Wheeler]

Thatcher Graham says: “I find that music collectors just a bit younger 
than me don't even know
78s existed. Or if they do, don't understand the different between them 
and LPs.
having never played records of any kind, they recognize them by diameter
not material or playing speed. My interns abstain from physical media
entirely - downloading and sharing digital media exclusively.  They see
our hobby as a novelty. The genre of music is not the obstruction. They 
just have no connection
to physical media.”

Thank you, Thatcher, for raising this issue. One of the big concerns of 
the IAJRC (International Association of Jazz Record Collectors) is how 
to attract young people to the hobby. We do have several members in 
their 30s who attend our annual Convention, but most attending members 
are in their 50s, 60s, and beyond. As the membership ages, we are not 
adding new blood. Your comments and that of other contributors on this 
matter have given me an idea that I have just e-mailed to the Manager 
of our 2010 Convention in September: Contact one or more local schools 
and invite a class or two to visit our Convention Record Room where 
they can see and hear 78s and LPs, what makes them different from CDs, 
how a phonograph works, and have a demonstrator give an entertaining 
explanation of these and other features. Seeing, hearing, and touching 
may be a way to help young people become aware of records, how much fun 
they can be, and why people turn collecting them into a lifetime hobby!