ABSTRACT
This chapter highlights the extent of DIY institutions of popular music heritage globally, provides a broader context in which to situate the 23 archives, museums and halls of fame and demonstrates that this community-led form of archival and curatorial activity, while having a long history, continues to show steady growth. Related to public access and implicit in the aims of many DIY institutions is the desire to increase a sense of proximity to the past for the community of interest. The Physical—DIY institutions included in the database were located by using internet search engines, and running detailed queries using the keywords "archive", "museum", "hall of fame" combined with genre, including, for example, "popular music", "jazz", "country music", "rock". The social aspect of DIY institutions is rarely accentuated in the mission statements of these organizations, which, like mainstream heritage sites, tend to emphasize the cultural functions of the institution.
