United Kingdom and Ireland

Abstract

Executive Committee 2014-2015 Officers: Branch President: Peter Baxter (Surrey Performing Arts Library); Immediate Past President: Richard Chesser (British Library); General Secretary: Roy Stanley (Trinity College Dublin); Treasurer: Monika Pietras (Royal College of Music); Brio Editor: Katharine Hogg; Newsletter Editor: Anna Pensaert (University of Cambridge); Education Officer: Geoff Thomason (Royal Northern College of Music); Membership Secretary: Nick Barlow; Outreach Officer: Vacant; Press and PR Officer: Peter Linnitt (Royal College of Music); Publications Officer: Almut Boehme (National Library of Scotland). Elected Members: Claire Kidwell (Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music & Dance), Karen McAulay (Royal Conservatoire of Scotland), Frances Metcalfe (Kent History and Library Centre), Graham Muncy, Rupert Ridgewell (British Library), Ruth Walters (Westminster Music Library), Janet Waterhouse (University of Huddersfield). IAML Board Member: Antony Gordon (British Library); Minutes Secretary--Rebecca Nye (Royal Academy of Music); Music Library Trust Representative--Pamela Thompson. The Executive Committee met four times between April 2014--March 2015 (April, July, October, February), but this is changing in 2015 and the Committee will only meet three times (February, June and October) in order to reduce expenditure. General Overview This was a year of highs and lows. Highs came from all the work undertaken by the Branch and the publicity given to music libraries by the BBC, and lows came from the withdrawal of interlibrary loan services by two public library authorities and reviews affecting several other music libraries. Organisational Review The Organisational Review of the Branch that started in October 2013 was completed in July 2014 when the final report submitted by the Finance and Administration Committee and Susi Woodhouse was accepted by the Executive Committee. The only changes proposed and approved were a reduction in the number of meetings of all committees from four to three per year; a more streamlined agenda for the meetings of the Executive Committee; and the establishment of a Communications, Public Relations, and Publications Committee (CPRP). The first two of these proposals have already been implemented and it is hoped that the CPRP Committee will be properly established during the course of the coming year. It is worth noting that changing the agenda has been a great success and resulted in more time being available to focus on discussing important topics at the meetings of the Executive Committee. In addition, the Treasurer also asked all the chairs and convenors of committees and working groups to submit their budgets for the following year in September to help her prepare the overall budget for discussion at the Executive Committee meeting in October. This has encouraged everyone to think and plan ahead, much to the benefit of the Branch. Annual Study Weekend Our Annual Study Weekend (ASW) was held on 10-12 April 2015 at Aston University, Birmingham, and was another huge success. As ever, this was mainly due to the superb work of our Conference Committee and the large number of presentations on a wide variety of topics (see below). Attendees also greatly appreciated the modern hotel-standard venue and the excellent food. The theme of the weekend was New Libraries: What Can We Learn, so delegates visited the Library of Birmingham (a public library) and heard presentations about the University of Birmingham Library and The Hive in Worcester (Europe's first joint university library and public library). It was interesting to hear about their experiences although the whole weekend was tinged with sadness at the prospect that all the music library staff at the Library of Birmingham may lose their jobs because of budget cuts. Delegates also experienced a variety of types of sessions, including traditional presentations about big data, heavy metal studies, and the Royal College of Organists Library and Archive; quick fire presentations (15 minutes) about sourcing accessible sheet music, success with events, promoting your library, studying librarianship, and using Pinterest; a panel discussion about the impact of digital technologies on music provision; presentations from exhibitors; and report and information sessions about a wide range of topics and projects. …