The National Recording Registry

National Recording Registry Criteria: The following criteria for the selection of recordings into the National Recording Registry are intended to be read broadly, so that as many recordings as possible will be eligible. Nominations will be referred to the National Recording Preservation Board and, ultimately, the Librarian of Congress, for selection. Recordings selected for the National Recording Registry are those that are culturally, historically or aesthetically important, and/or inform or reflect life in the United States. For the purposes of recording selection, "sound recordings" are defined as works that result from the fixation of a series of musical, spoken, or other sounds, but not including the sound component of a moving image work, unless it is available as an autonomous sound recording or is the only extant component of the work. Recordings may be a single item or group of related items; published or unpublished; and may contain music, non-music, spoken word, or broadcast sound. Recordings will not be considered for inclusion into the National Recording Registry if no copy of the recording exists. No recording should be denied inclusion into the National Recording Registry because that recording has already been preserved. No recording is eligible for inclusion into the National Recording Registry until ten years after the recording's creation.