Music Library Research Articles

Listening to Music “in” the Library

Digital and streaming audio and video (A/V) content have usurped the primacy of physical media materials and their playback technology within institutional music libraries, notwithstanding throwbacks to and resurgences of physical media in commercial and personal contexts. Music libraries are challenged with the conflicting responsibilities of maintaining legacy format materials that are not digitally available, continuing to collect physical resources that are not available either digitally or through institutional streaming subscriptions, and acquiring born-digital and digitized resources. They must also reconcile these responsibilities with the fact that many streaming A/V resources are freely available to individual consumers. In an era of dwindling resources and appreciation for curated music collections, how will libraries ensure that their A/V resources, in all formats, remain relevant to current and future users? This paper presents the results of an A/V usage survey administered to affiliates of the University of Alberta’s Music Department to learn about the attitudes, preferences and experiences of music library users’ practises for accessing recorded music.

Minutes of the 2019 CAML/ACBM Annual General Meeting

CAML Review is published three times per year. It is concerned with music and music materials and strives to promote a better understanding of the cultural importance of music libraries, archives and documentation centres locally, regionally and nationally.

In Memoriam: Debra Begg (2019)

CAML Review is published three times per year. It is concerned with music and music materials and strives to promote a better understanding of the cultural importance of music libraries, archives and documentation centres locally, regionally and nationally.

Reports from the 2020 CAML/ACBM Annual General Meeting

CAML Review is published three times per year. It is concerned with music and music materials and strives to promote a better understanding of the cultural importance of music libraries, archives and documentation centres locally, regionally and nationally.

CAML Milestones

CAML Review is published three times per year. It is concerned with music and music materials and strives to promote a better understanding of the cultural importance of music libraries, archives and documentation centres locally, regionally and nationally.

Acquiring, Preserving, and Exhibiting a Comprehensive Collection of Vocal Music Recordings from Early- to Mid-Twentieth Century

The Stratton-Clarke collection consists of approximately 200 linear feet of 78 and 33 1/3 rpm records, and thousands of digitized recordings that represents a comprehensive history of early twentieth century recorded Western sound, specifically opera -- its artists, roles, and early legacy from 78 rpm to early long play records. Along with someephemera and several pieces of historic playback equipment, a large financial gift will offset the costs of processing, preserving and providing access to the various formats represented in the collection. As the largest music research collection in Canada, the University of Toronto Music Library is fortunate to have the capacity to manage a donation of this magnitude. Each of our four authors has an important role to play to make the project a success. In this article we present a history and background of John Stratton, Stephen Clarke, and the collection itself, and document the many facets of a library taking on a donation of this size: donor relations and collaboration with the University’s advancement team and other stakeholders; the project management involved in making space and designing workflow for cataloguing, processing, and storage; archival description of the 78s and ephemera; preservation of the digital objects and digitization strategies for the analog recordings; the challenges and opportunities of working with large financial gifts; teamwork and managing students; and future plans for physical and online exhibitions of the collection.

Editor’s Column

CAML Review is published three times per year. It is concerned with music and music materials and strives to promote a better understanding of the cultural importance of music libraries, archives and documentation centres locally, regionally and nationally.

Message from the President / Message du président

CAML Review is published three times per year. It is concerned with music and music materials and strives to promote a better understanding of the cultural importance of music libraries, archives and documentation centres locally, regionally and nationally.

Forgetting and Remembering: The Case of Leo Sowerby’s The Canticle of the Sun

Research Article| December 01 2020 Forgetting and Remembering: The Case of Leo Sowerby’s The Canticle of the Sun Joseph Sargent Joseph Sargent Joseph Sargent is assistant professor of music at the University of Alabama. Active as a researcher of both modern American and sacred Renaissance music, he has published articles and reviews in American Choral Review, the Musical Times, Early Music History, Revista de Musicología, NOTES: Journal of the Music Library Association, Fontes Artis Musicae, and several essay collections. Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google American Music (2020) 38 (4): 485–518. https://doi.org/10.5406/americanmusic.38.4.0485 Cite Icon Cite Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Permissions Search Site Citation Joseph Sargent; Forgetting and Remembering: The Case of Leo Sowerby’s The Canticle of the Sun. American Music 1 January 2020; 38 (4): 485–518. doi: https://doi.org/10.5406/americanmusic.38.4.0485 Download citation file: Zotero Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All Scholarly Publishing CollectiveUniversity of Illinois PressAmerican Music Search Advanced Search The text of this article is only available as a PDF. Copyright 2021 by the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois2021 Article PDF first page preview Close Modal You do not currently have access to this content.

Noten und Akten

Abstract Historical archives are institutions holding historical sources, in particular deeds and files, that is to say records created in the past for administrative and legal purposes. Today, historical archives are responsible for preserving administrative documents that will become sources of history in the future. This paper reviews the connection – and disconnection – between archives of this type and musicology. In the field of music-historical research, it is most common to use music libraries and other special music collections, particularly to examine original manuscripts of musical compositions. Music historians have focused less on archival sources, though these are increasingly valued thanks to the influence of cultural history. On the other hand, historians dealing with general history have been little interested in the history of the arts and, particularly, in music history, instead focusing mainly on political, social and economic issues. Archivists have shared these preferences. By contrast, this article presents examples of the potential of archival sources for music-historical research, and shows that Archival Science contributes to the management of written cultural heritage in the field of music as well.

Searching, sharing and singing: understanding the information behaviors of choral directors

PurposeThis article aims to help music librarians and other information professionals effectively understand and support communities of choral directors and other groups dependent on networking and serendipitous information encounters. In addition, through discussion and comparison of theories of information behavior, research articles and analysis of events and experiences, the article encourages thoughtful and practical applications of information behavior research.Design/methodology/approachThis conceptual paper uses different theories of information behavior to outline three distinct modes of learning and knowing within communities of choral directors: individual searching, community expertise and serendipitous encounters.FindingsThe choral directing community is one that benefits not only from information support systems that emphasize individual information seeking, but also collaborative networking and serendipitous encounters with other community members. Librarians and other information professionals can best help this group discover new repertoire, plan concert programs, improve rehearsals and support other relevant activities through understanding and helping to provide access to professional music networks and being creative in providing opportunities for serendipitous information discovery.Originality/valueLittle information behavior research and discussion have focused specifically on the information practices of choral directors and how the format and schedule of a professional choral conference illuminate such practices and needs.

“The Bane of a Music Librarian’s Existence”: Why and How Music Libraries Preserve Scores with Spiral and Comb Bindings

ABSTRACT While popular with music publishers, spiral and comb bindings for music scores are problematic for music libraries for many reasons, especially long-term preservation. While recommendations exist for how libraries should treat these scores, only a few outdated research studies detail actual binding practices. This article summarizes and analyzes findings from a 2018 survey of 50 libraries of various sizes and budgets in the United States and Canada, describing common ways libraries deal with spiral- and comb-bound scores, the main perceived problems with these types of bindings, and the diversity of decision workflows.

Comparison Study for Art Centers in Greater Cairo To Achieve Heritage conservation

Art centers Art centers play an important role in building social connections and increasing the artistic sense of community in addition to enhancing peoples' creative skills and developing their analytical and intellectual abilities which lead to success. The vital role of art centers is developing the community traditional culture as well as calling for reviving the spirit of authenticity and preservation of cultural heritage.In Egypt Art Centers are worked asfunctional community centers that focus on supporting arts practice and facilities as art galleries act as museums that reflect many aspects of people’s lives.Educational facilities, workshops, a performing arts theatre, a fine arts library, music library, and dance and drawing studios supporting local communities and cover part of the gap between culture needs and available building and facilities in the city.Cairo’s role as the cultural capital of one of oldest civilizations in the world is reflected in the arts and architecture of all periods. Therefore, the art centers role in Greater Cairo varies to preserve and teach the traditional and new arts. Despite the emergence of museums in Egypt in the early nineteenth century, the establishment of art centers in Egypt in its current form began in the late fifties in the twentieth century. It appeared as new buildings or the reuse of heritage buildings. Its function is to revive and teach different types of art different periods, achieve conservation of identity, Cultural heritage and creating a new artistic value.This study will highlight the complex value of art centers buildings in Cairo with a comparison between its design, roles and methods of development. FromArchitects,Academicians, designers,andstudents point views toward sitting up a methodology for the design and development of arts centers in Greater Cairo.

Adventures of an Accidental Music Librarian: Nurturing a New Library

ABSTRACT In 2018, the University of Tennessee at Martin sought to expand its music degree programs, leading to the development of a satellite music library on campus. Prior to this time, the music library consisted only of a small, closed-stacks band music collection with no cataloged holdings. Due to the author’s background in cataloging and her liaison role to music and fine arts, she used the band library as a foundation for expanding the music library collection. This article will discuss steps taken in the process, which may be of interest to readers for whom music cataloging is a new endeavor. Areas discussed include choice of classification for media, space considerations, funding, and the process of forming partnerships on campus.

It Takes a Village: Populating the Institutional Repository with Performing Arts Content

ABSTRACT Managing an institutional repository is not a project in its own right: rather, it is an operational service that involves conversations with faculty, students, and other content providers. However, once those stakeholders decide that the repository is a good, stable, discoverable home for their work, there are projects involved in populating the repository. This article presents a case study of how the author, a music librarian and institutional repository manager at Illinois State University, approached adding thousands of items from the Illinois State University College of Fine Arts into the institutional repository, ISU ReD.

Bringing Digital in from the Cold: Collecting and Preserving Music Downloads

ABSTRACT The rapid evolution of distribution models for recorded music has challenged libraries in a new way over the last decade. Music libraries in particular have struggled to collect, preserve, and lend recordings as the CD has become obsolescent, and with it the ownership of recordings as physical objects. This article reviews the literature on the problem of collecting digital music downloads, analyzes areas of agreement and disagreement between experts, and sorts proposed solutions into “top-down” (or authority-driven) and “bottom-up” (or grass-roots) categories. We then describe a practice developed at University of Denver for collecting downloads, and discuss its limitations and possibilities.

Music schools and schools of arts Libraries – the place for study and work ("second place")

In contrast to Oldenburg’s concept of «library – the “third place”» the article presents its role as the «second place», i.e. the place for study and work, on the examples of music and art schools libraries, (music schools/CAS) of St. Petersburg. These establishments meet the specific needs of library users (students and teachers) that occur in the process of educational activities on pre-service programs in various types of art. The peculiarity of these libraries permit them to preserve their own niche in the general library and information space and in each concrete institution of additional education. The article examines social functions, goals and tasks of DMSH/DSHI libraries, their normative-legislative regulations, financial and acquisition questions, work of referencesearch apparatus, forms of servicing users. Possible ways of their development are designated: creation of the special Model standard; transformation of libraries into educational information centers on art in the educational environment of schools with the appropriate technical and technological equipment and the Internet access; active mastering of social networks. All this will allow DMSH/DSHI libraries to develop and implement additional forms of service.

What We’ve Managed to Transcribe Thus Far: Lessons from the Blythe Owen Letter Transcription Project

ABSTRACT In 2016, the music librarian at Andrews University in Berrien Springs, MI launched a project to transcribe approximately 2,000 letters by twentieth-century American composer Blythe Owen into typed, keyword-searchable documents. The goal of the transcription project is to make these letters more accessible beyond their current archival setting, and thereby lay the foundation for further inquiry into Owen, her works, and the people she knew – among them pianist and pedagogue Rudolf Ganz, African-American composer Florence Price, and composition teacher Nadia Boulanger. Managing such a large project has proven challenging, but worth the effort. This article describes the methodology, successes, challenges, and current progress of the Owen letter transcription project, including the employment of two graduate assistants in the transcription process over the past four years. The benefits of involving student assistants in the research process in an archive outweigh the challenges of mentoring and supervising the creation of the transcription documents.

Chamber music works by Amanda Maier in the context of European Romanticism

Chamber music works by Amanda Maier in the context of European Romanticism

“Just the Way You Are”: Linking Music Listening on Spotify and Personality

Advances in digital technology have put music libraries at people’s fingertips, giving them immediate access to more music than ever before. Here we overcome limitations of prior research by leveraging ecologically valid streaming data: 17.6 million songs and over 662,000 hr of music listened to by 5,808 Spotify users spanning a 3-month period. Building on interactionist theories, we investigated the link between personality traits and music listening behavior, described by an extensive set of 211 mood, genre, demographic, and behavioral metrics. Findings from machine learning showed that the Big Five personality traits are predicted by musical preferences and habitual listening behaviors with moderate to high accuracy. Importantly, our work contrasts a recent self-report-based meta-analysis, which suggested that personality traits play only a small role in musical preferences; rather, we show with big data and advanced machine learning methods that personality is indeed important and warrants continued rigorous investigation.