Music Collections In American Libraries

Follows the popularization of ethnic music in the United States during the beginning of this century, and looks at popular band leaders and ethnic vaudeville

Although music may be the most widely experienced and appreciated of the arts, its technical language renders it one of the most obscure when it is to be written down, described, analyzed, and cataloged. In addition, the peculiarities of music publishing formats, their sources of supply and acquisition, and of binding, shelving, circulation, and cataloging, mean that knowledge beyond the usual bookjournal orbits is required of librarians charged with building music collections. This Guide to Developing a Library Music Collection is intended to assist librarians who are new to music collection development, and who want some tips on how to get started.

The literature of American music librarianship has been around since the 19th century when public libraries began to keep records of player-piano concerts, significant donations of books and music, and suggestions for housing music. As the 20th century began, American periodicals printed more and more articles on increasingly specialized topics within music studies. Eventually books were developed to aid the music librarian; their publication has continued over the course of nearly a century. This book reflects the great diversity of the literature of music librarianship. The main resources included are items of historical interest, descriptions of individual collections, catalogues of collections, articles describing specific library functions, record-related subjects, bibliographies designed for music library use, literature from Canada and Britain when relevant to U.S. library practices, key discographies, and information on specialized music research. The material is ordered by topic and indexed by author, subject, and library name.

This collection of articles dedicated to the memory of Lenore Coral divides into three sections that focus on her scholarly interests: music of the eighteenth century, music libraries and collections, and new approaches to the musical canon. Many of the seventeen contributions included in the volume are the result of the individual author's connection with Lenore, or were projects that she had been directly involved with, either as dissertation advisor, committee member, or interested observer. The senior scholars and music librarians represented here are testament to the impact of her intellect and influence.