Building an E-Audio Reserves Program at Tulane University: Methods and Procedures

Abstract

Electronic audio reserves, or e-audio reserves, is a highly sought-after service for academic music libraries. With the publication in 2010 of the Music Library Association's Statement on the Digital Transmission of Audio Reserves finally clarifying a library's roles and responsibilities regarding related copyright issues, librarians have been anxious to respond to the need and initiate their own e-audio reserves program. Copyright, however, is just one hurdle that music libraries are facing now that implementation is on the horizon. When an opportunity arose at Tulane University to re-build our e-audio reserves program, a survey seeking information about the hardware, software, and related security issues was sent to the Music Library Association listserv. The responses revealed a disparity in methodology and, in multiple cases, an absence of full knowledge about a library's own systems. This article traces the process of building an e-audio reserves program at Tulane University from start to finish. Beginning with an internal survey of available resources, this article reviews the departments we successfully reached out to and continue to collaborate with, the hardware and software selected to manage the program, metadata standards, workflow, and, finally, advertising the service to faculty.