Frequently Asked Questions

General

Can I visit the Macaulay Library?

As much as we appreciate the interest in our organization, we are not set up for tours by the public. The visitor's center for The Lab of Ornithology does have exhibits for the public that describe our work in the visitor center.

Didn't you used to be called the Library of Natural Sounds?

Yes! We recently changed our name to the Macaulay Library. An ambitious capital campaign financed the Lab of Ornithology's move into a new building in 2003. This new space included generous room for our collection. Linda and William (Bill) Macaulay made a significant contribution to the campaign, which helped finance custom-built studios, fiber-optic connectivity, and an atmospherically controlled deep archive for the collection. As a result of Linda and Bill's many contributions, the archival facility was named the Macaulay Library. View the press release here.

Can I borrow video recording equipment from the Macaulay Library?

In the near future we will lend equipment to capable videographers and field researchers in an effort to get a camera in the hands of those who are out in the field conducting research or observing behavior. Borrowers will have to come here for instruction and training in the operation and care of the loaner equipment. Check back later for more information on loaner equipment.

Audio

How large is the audio collection?

The Macaulay Library is the world's largest archive of animal sounds.We have more than 160,000 recordings of 67 percent of the world's birds, and rapidly increasing holdings of insects, fish, frogs, and mammals.

Do you have sounds of predators that will scare birds away from my house/barn/garage, etc?

For some species this can be an effective method of controlling some types of birds. If you make an e-mail inquiry on our order form, we'll let you know if we have any experience with the species that is troubling you. You might also want to go to the Lab's website on Woodpecker Damage, Prevention, and Control, or view the All About Birds article on nuisance birds.

How much does it cost?

We charge by the hour for our time, not by the recording. Find out more.

Can't you give me sounds or video for free?

As a not-for-profit organization we charge for the time it takes us to prepare materials for distribution. We spend staff time to prepare raw field materials for distribution. That means that in addition to the costs involved in maintaining the collection, we have staff time for preparation and delivery. We do have a limited number of sounds available for free, but we rely on our commercial efforts help to fund our conservation efforts.

Video

Can I submit natural history video to the collection?

We are interested in adding to our collection, but at the moment we have our hands full digitizing the material we have for distribution on the Internet. We would like to talk to you about what you have and how it might fit in our collection. Contact macaulaylibrary@cornell.edu

How large is the video collection?

We currently have more than 700 hours of professional quality video representing 3,000 species of birds in the video archive.