This set of web pages is in part a companion and guide to two digital archives: the World War I Sheet Music from the James Francis Driscoll Collection of American Sheet Music and the James Edward Myers World War I Sheet Music Collection. It is titled, however, Popular Music of World War I: A Living Archive, because its contents extend well beyond a simple introduction to the collections. Included are an introduction, a summary of the conventions that govern metadata for the two archives, a history of the entire project from my undergraduate years to 2018, a spreadsheet that presents the metadata in an alternative form, and a “User’s Guide” for persons wishing to use the whole for their own research. Ancillary pages list, briefly describe, and sometimes supplement publications and lectures that have derived from the project.
These pages are designed to be used, not read. And it is my hope that in exploring their use, both pleasures and rewards will be found. Happy explorations!
—William Brooks