ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book reflects on the ways in which enthusiast-founded, volunteer-led, community-based archives, museums and halls of fame are contributing to the public record of popular music's material past. Individuals and communities are taking on the role of custodians of popular music heritage, producing archives, museums and halls of fame that are distinct and specific, but which reside on a continuum of popular music heritage practice at community level. The book then discusses KD's Elvis Presley Museum and the Sarasota Music Archive both ascribe to a do-it-yourself (DIY) approach to heritage, in which popular music's material past is managed, preserved and curated by ordinary people in extraordinary ways. Many countries now have national museums and archives dedicated to the collection, preservation and display of popular music; these institutions often seek to provide a level of public access to their collections.
