Nearly two months into his role as President of the UK & Ireland branch of IAML, we asked Peter Linnitt, Librarian of the Royal College of Music, to tell us about his role at the RCM. This post is the first in a “Week in the life” series, where we will meet professionals from all areas of the music library and archive world and all career stages. Peter writes:
I am responsible for RCM Library which supports students and staff during their time at the college. The library service has both physical and online collections, our lending collection includes about 200,000 items. In addition it holds an internationally important research collection of about 100,000 items including manuscripts, early printed music and books. I am supported by a team of 9 assistant librarians, who have areas of specific responsibilities including orchestral work, cataloguing and e-resources, and 6 student library assistants.
A typical week will always include about 20% of my time on the issue desk. This is really important to me as it gives me a connection with our users. It is always good to hear things are going well but it if they are not I am better placed to try to do something about it. Luckily our biggest issue is with our printers rather than the library service.
I normally try to spend the same amount of time on stockwork. No collection stands still as repertoires are continually developing and new editions are published. In the last week we have added copies of the new editions of Shostakovich’s symphonies, 170 copies of Poulenc’s Gloria (for a concert in the autumn) and last-minute orders for student recitals. Occasionally we add items to our research collections and in the last week I have agreed the donation of a group of Avril Coleridge-Taylor’s manuscripts which add to a collection which she gave to the library in the 1990s.
We have a steady stream of enquiries coming to the library: I have dealt with offers of collections of music from past students and questions about copyright normally end up with me.
Any management role includes responsibility for staff, finance and internal promotion of the service within the organisation and these are woven through any week. In the last week I have represented the library at meetings across the college, including our Research Degrees Committee and welcomed a group of visitors from the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. I have also helped write an article about Samuel Coleridge-Taylor for the college’s magazine.
One highlight of any week comes from attending college concerts as it gives us the opportunity to hear the students and watch their development over time. At the moment we are in the middle of their recitals so I have been able to attend a few recitals. It is a privilege to be able to take the time in the day to enjoy live music played by such excellent student performers.