Charles Parker Archive

The Charles Parker Archive is housed in the Library of Birmingham’s Archives, Heritage and Photography section. It consists of tapes, production books, papers, correspondence and scripts for most of the programmes Charles Parker produced and the organisations in which he was active. The online catalogue Access to Archives (A2A) means that list of its digitised sound recordings can be browsed from any computer.

Charles Parker came to believe passionately in the value of the testimony of working people and the creative importance of 'the oral tradition' and its relationship to folk music. This became the key to his work in radio, theatre and in his extensive teaching activities

Charles Parker kept everything, and everything he kept is held in this collection

- The tapes he recorded and worked with

- Transcriptions and working notes

- Production books and notebooks

- Newspaper cuttings

- Letters sent and received

- A library of books on international folk music and culture, politics, history, religion

After his death in 1980 a Trust was set up to administer the Archive.

The contents of the Archive have been converted to digital media for easier access, and a list of its digitised sound recordings can be browsed from any computer.