The Rodgers and Hammerstein Archives of Recorded Sound (RHA) represents one of the greatest audio collections in the United States and is an incredible resource for music lovers, performers, composers, and researchers. As technology advances, our users’ expectations for how to access and interact with our collections change; for example, it is increasingly common for users to carry their personal music libraries with them, via cell phones and computers or via the cloud. In 2017, staff members in RHA were awarded a grant from the New York Public Library (NYPL) to create a portable, secure audiovisual streaming platform to increase outreach and accessibility to the collections. With a Raspberry Pi miniature computer and open source software, we successfully introduced an additional, user-friendly access point for patrons that maintains NYPL’s standard for secure streaming. This virtual “reading room” facilitates easy access to our collection materials for patrons at branch locations across New York City. The Raspberry Pi and supporting open-source software show promise as jumping-off points not only for RHA’s outreach efforts but also for other libraries and research centers who may be inspired to further adapt this model for new and unanticipated purposes.
