History of the Macaulay Library

1950-1970 The Early Magnetic Tape Era

Disc archiving enjoyed only a short life at CLO when it was supplanted by the magnetic tape technology developed in Germany during World War II. Magnetic tape recording opened the door to development of an easily portable recording system and provided capability for instantaneous playback of a bird's voice for identification and experimental investigations. Paul Kellogg helped design the first lightweight tape recorder, which weighed less than 20 pounds; it went into commercial production in 1951 and greatly expanded options for field recordists. As a result, the Library of Natural Sounds (as it was then known) began a major period of growth.

Byrl Kellogg, a professional librarian, was recruited to catalog and organize the growing collection. Updating as well the goal of public outreach, both Doc Allen and later Peter Paul Kellogg hosted a local radio show, Know Your Birds, discussing birds, their natural history, and vocalizations, a program that remained on the air until the mid-1980s. Doc Allen retired from teaching in 1953, but continued to promote the development of ornithology at Cornell. The result was the designation of the Lab of Ornithology as an independent department of the University in 1955, and the completion of the new Stuart Observatory ornithology facility at Sapsucker Woods in 1957. The Library of Natural Sounds, with dedicated space in the new facility and bolstered by a growing core of research and volunteer recordists, commenced a period of growth that would transition it from a collection of North American bird recordings to an international sound archive.

In 1958, Robert C. Stein, then a graduate student of Kellogg, began research that would use differences in song to demonstrate for the first time that the species then known as Traill's Flycatcher Empidonax traillii was comprised of two essentially morphologically identical birds that were distinct species, the Willow and Alder Flycatchers Empidonax traillii and E. alnorum. William Dilger studied the role of song as an isolating mechanism among Hylocichla and Catharus thrushes. Recordings of the birds in Kenya and other parts of eastern Africa were collected by Myles E. W. North, while Donald and Marian McChesney recorded in Africa and Europe. L. Irby Davis amassed a remarkable collection of Mexican material. Drawing material from the collection and carrying out expeditions to fill gaps, the Lab produced and published the first full guide to the songs of North American birds, as well as a guide to the sounds of eastern North American frogs and toads. Also at this time, an Ithaca teenager by the name of Randolph Little became involved with the Lab, helping to assemble sounds for the first Peterson Series bird sound guides published by Houghton Mifflin Company.

The mid-60s would bring change to the Library of Natural Sounds. In 1964 Arthur Allen died. Later that year Byrl Kellogg also passed away. Her legacy was a superb catalog of the primary species section of the collection, as well as catalogs of original recorded discs and sound films. In 1966, Peter Paul Kellogg retired from Cornell University. During the transition years following the loss of Allen and the retirement of Kellogg and original organizers, activity in the sound collections slowed. However, the collaborators and students they'd inspired and encouraged were already filling the void. Jennifer Horne masterfully edited the African collection of Myles E. W. North, and L. Virginia Engelhard, then supervisor of the Library of Natural Sounds, incorporated it into the collection. Eugene Morton, conducting research in Panama, added new recordings to the archive. Technical and equipment support was provided for Sheldon Severinghaus in Taiwan and Theodore Cronin in Nepal, resulting in major additions of recordings from those regions.