In order to promote national awareness of the urgency of protecting our recorded sound heritage, the GRAMMY Foundation was instrumental in spearheading the writing and successful passage of the National Recording Preservation Act of 2000, the nation ' s first legislation addressing the preservation of recorded sound. This legislation created a National Recording Preservation Board that works with the Librarian of Congress and the public to select entries for the National Recording Registry that are culturally, historically or aesthetically significant, ensuring the preservation of these designated historic recordings. Approximately 50 recordings are added to the Registry each year, selected from nominations by experts in the field, as well as the public. For a complete listing of the recordings and/or to nominate recordings, please visit http://www.loc.gov/rr/record/nrpb/.

As a part of its partnership with the Library of Congress, the GRAMMY Foundation works with The Recording Academy to identify recordings from its archives that have been submitted for consideration but have never been nominated for a GRAMMY. These recordings are then donated to the Library of Congress for public access. The donated collection includes many renowned artists and recordings on a variety of media. The Recording Academy retains a collection of recordings of GRAMMY nominees, Hall Of Fame, Lifetime Achievement and Trustees Award recipients. Also, the donation to the Library of Congress includes related items, such as a collection of Edison Diamond Discs from the early days of recording. The donation broadens and enriches the Library's existing audio collection of American music. Together, the Library of Congress and The Recording Academy cooperatively maintain the entire collection, which reflects much of the popular history of recorded sound from 1958 to the present.