Cooperative collection management in music: past and present

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to provide a general review and historical context for cooperative and collaborative management of musical materials.Design/methodology/approachThe paper explores historical instances and modern contextual parallels. It applies management of music – within collaborative knowledge creation hierarchies – to conceptual continua in collections. It applies theoretical business concepts to music libraries and vendors. It explores changing roles of subject specialists and the roles of business partnerships.FindingsSelection of musical materials has become less the realm of subject specialists, and more that of corporations, as publisher's power spreads across supply chains. This power has influenced musical content and access, both in historical and modern contexts. Corporations should yield to the wisdom of subject specialists and librarians, to the benefit of the art of music.Practical implicationsFor cost‐saving purposes alone, cooperative collection management of music is generally too troublesome to undertake. Assessment, in terms of mutual benefit of access, use, and conceptual continua across collections, is practically impossible, owing to myriad conditions. Problems of cooperative business partnering between vendors and music libraries relate to the material complexity and assessment. Cooperation requires standardized policy statements detailing individual and collective goals/outcomes. These policy statements are speculative and unpredictable.Originality/valueThe paper brings an historical champion of music library cooperation (Otto Kinkeldey) into the light of modern day, and reveals key aspects of cooperation/collaboration for music materials that remain of the same nature today as in history. It provides context for future cooperative initiatives.