Music library

Music library, Leipzig, 1985

A music library contains music-related materials for patron use. Collections may also include non-print materials, such as digitized music scores or audio recordings. Use of such materials may be limited to specific patron groups, especially in private academic institutions. Music library print collections include dictionaries and encyclopedias, indexes and directories, printed music, music serials, bibliographies, and other music literature.

There are four types of music libraries:

1. Those developed to support departments of music in university or college settings;
2. Those developed to support conservatories and schools of music;
3. Those housed within public libraries;
4. Those developed as independent libraries or archives supporting music organizations.

Other uses

• Production music libraries license their copyrighted music for use in film, television and radio productions.
• Performance libraries serve performing music groups, particularly large orchestras, by acquiring, preparing, and maintaining music for performance.
• Digital music libraries and archives preserve recordings and digitized scores or literature in a variety of electronic formats. Many music libraries dedicate part of their duties to digitizing parts of their collection and maintaining digital files. Digital preservation requires specific procedures to avoid decay, obsolescence, and loss. Digital materials may be part of a larger, physical collection, or may compose an entirely electronic collection not physically accessible (usually housed on a network or on the Internet). Access may be limited as a fee-based service, a private service to specific user groups (such as students at a conservatory), or freely accessible to the public.

See also

• Music databases
• Music librarianship
• Music Library Association, the main professional organization for the field.

Further reading

• Anderson, Gillian B. "Putting the Experience of the World at the Nation's Command: Music at the Library of Congress, 1800-1917", Journal of the American Musicological Society, vol. 42 (1989), no. 1, p. [108]-149.
• Brown, James Duff (1893), Guide to the formation of a music library, London: Sipkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent & Co. 
• Bibliothèque nationale (France), Département de la Phonothèque nationale et de l'Audiovisuel = The National [Sound] Record[ings] and Audiovisual Department of the National Library [of France]. [Paris]: Bibliothèque nationale, [1986]. 9 p.
• International Association of Music Libraries. Bibliothèques d'établissement d'enseignement musical: Répertoire européen = Libraries in Music Teaching Institution[s]: European Directory. [S.l.]: International Association of Music Libraries, 1994. N.B.: Title and some of the text also in German. Without ISBN
• Langridge, Derek. Your Jazz Collection. London: C. Bingley, 1970. N.B.: Concerns both library and private jazz music collections. SBN 85157-100-X
• Lewis, Larry, ed. Union List of Music Periodicals in Canadian Libraries. Second ed. Ottawa, Ont.: Canadian Association of Music Libraries, 1981. N.B.: The title and introd. are also in French.
• McColvin, Lionel, and Harold Reeves. Music Libraries. Original ed. by Lionel Roy McColvin and Harold Reeves; completely re-written, rev., and extended by Jack Dove, in series, Grafton Book[s]. London: A. Deutsch, 1965. 2 vol. N.B.: Vol. 1 is a study of such libraries and of music librarianship; vol. 2 is a bibliog. of music literature published from 1957 to 1965.
• Music Library Association. Committee on Musical Instrument Collections. A Survey of Musical Instrument Collections in the United States and Canada, conducted by a committee of the Music Library Association, William Lichtenwanger, chairman & compiler; ed. and produced by James W. Pruitt. Ann Arbor, Mich.: Music Library Association, 1974. xi, 137 p. ISBN 0-914954-00-8
• Music Library Association. New England Chapter. Directory of Music Libraries and Collections in New England. 9th ed. Providence, R.I.: The Chapter, 1994. Lacks ISBN or ISSN.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Music libraries.

• Florida State University Music Library - Contains useful links to electronic resources.
• Improving Availability of Print Collections: A Case Study at the College-Conservatory of Music Library - by David Sandor, MLA Forum, 6, 2008.
• Songwriting-guide.com/music-library - Contains more info about music libraries.
• Music Library Association
• http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/gsc1994009872/PP/