Editor's Note

Abstract

Editor’s Note With this issue, the journal begins its celebration of the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Music Library Association (MLA). For the next two years each issue will include at least one article that is devoted to a luminary of the association who has helped to shape it and the profession of music librarianship. For many of our readers, these names will be unfamiliar, for others, will evoke warm memories of cherished colleagues and friends. The four articles that appear here were first presented on 26 September 2004 at a symposium in Berkeley, CA, during the dedication of the Jean Gray Hargrove Music Library. As such, they highlight the vast rare and special collections held by the library, many of which were brought to Berkeley by Vincent Duckles (1913–1985), its first librarian. Duckles began his tenure as music librarian at Berkeley in 1947, and in the decades that passed under his watch, built a collection considered unparalleled in the U.S. for its holdings of music manuscripts. He is of course well known to our readers as the author of Music Reference and Research Materials: An Annotated Bibliography (London: Free Press, 1964), an expansion of the syllabus for the graduate music bibliography course he created and taught at Berkeley (A Guide to Reference Materials on Music:Music 200, Fundamentals of Music Bibliography, with Harriet S. Nicewonger. University of California syllabus series. [Berkeley: University of California Press, 1949]; revised ed., 1952 under the title A Guide to Reference Materials on Music). The dedication of the new library facility was the culmination of many years of hard work, particularly by John H. Roberts, the collection's present librarian, and Wye J. Allanbrook, chair of the music department during the planning phase for the library. That celebratory weekend was uplifting in many ways. The spirit of Vincent Duckles could be felt throughout the festivities. The dream of a library facility worthy of the collection he did so much to build had finally become a reality. We in the Music Library Association are fortunate to have had many visionary pioneers pave the way for future generations of music librarians and scholars. It is my sincere hope that over the course of the next two years, readers of the journal will come to fully understand the efforts of these marvelous people. [End Page 9] Happy Anniversary, MLA! As the association looks to its next 75 years, this journal will continue to be a mirror reflective of the myriad activities of librarians and scholars, and will strive to provide adequate coverage of topics, both current and historical, that are of interest to our readers. Click for larger view View full resolution Figure 1. Vincent Duckles (1913–1985) Copyright © 2005 the Music Library Association, Inc.