Heavy Metal is not a topic that I imagine comes up with any great regularity in the field of music librarianship (some may even argue that it is not even, in fact, “music” but that is perhaps a discussion for another time), but it was the focus of an enlightening presentation given by Dr Andy…
It’s an inarguable fact that digital technologies have had a huge effect on library provision in general. The arts have perhaps been slightly slower than the sciences to explore and exploit digital potential, but the panel session on ‘The Impact of Digital Technologies on Music Provision in Libraries’ presented ample proof that music librarians have…
Jane Fanshawe got the ASW off to a thrilling and foot-tapping start with a talk on the life and work of her husband, David – ethnomusicologist, composer, and champion of world music. Now housed in a converted stable-block among the Malvern Hills, Jane has an enormous collection of reel-to-reel tapes recorded by David on his…
Karen McAulay gets in touch with her Inner Geek… It is strange to think that only a decade ago, hardly anyone would have heard of big data. For something so large, it’s relatively easy to get your head around the concept. Big data is where you assemble such an enormous quantity of digital data that…
You’ve heard the corny old joke about organists, I imagine? What’s the difference between an organist and a terrorist? You can’t reason with an organist. (Music librarians may not fully understand the joke, organists will protest, but there are clergy who will smile wrily. I’m an organist, or I wouldn’t dare say it!) Andrew McCrea,…
The ASW included a visit to the magnificent Library of Birmingham. It was truly a stunning space, but offered many stark lessons to be learnt about building new libraries, particularly functionality vs. design and the importance of consulting users and librarians throughout the process. Two presentations the following day offered a welcome positive perspective on…
IAML (UK & Irl) Academic Music Librarians Seminar, held 10 April 2015 at Aston University, Birmingham The afternoon seminar featured four presentations around the topic of supporting students with disabilities (with the exception of one paper on blogging). The three talks on disabilities were hugely enlightening. Almut Boehme (National Library of Scotland) gave a concise overview of…
I’ve just returned from the IAML Annual Study Weekend in Birmingham. Over the next couple of weeks there’ll be lots of posts on here about it. So, if you were unfortunate enough to not make this year’s ASW, you’ll be able to catch up on all the events. If you’re “missing it already”, there’ll be…
….or in my case the A14. On Friday, in common with many of you, after dropping the dog off at his own canine conference, I’ll be setting off to IAML UK’s Annual Study Weekend in Birmingham. It will be the first time I’ll be attending the whole conference rather than just being a “day-tripper”; and…
As the dust finally settled on our Arts Council funded project “Behind the Lines” (a year long programme of music workshops featuring the music and composers of the First World War) I was pondering during the depths of winter 2014 over what we in Westminster Music Library could do next…. Some might argue that being…
Last Saturday 7th February 2015 saw Somerset Performing Arts Library celebrate National Music Libraries Day. With a full day’s programme it was our best yet. We started the day with our ever popular “Sing for fun” workshop, run by local jazz singer/pianist/composer/teacher Julie Dunn (www.juliedunn.co.uk). The library rang to a great sound as they learnt…
29 October 2014 saw the implementation of legislation to facilitate the use of orphan works in the UK. An orphan work is defined as a copyright work or performance for which one or more of the rights holders either cannot be identified or cannot be located, thus making it impossible to seek permission for use of…
“Our mandolin ensemble would like to perform at Westminster Music Library” “Fantastic! Err how many of you will there be?” “Oh just sixteen or so…” Well I like a challenge and we’d never hosted a mandolin ensemble before, how could I refuse? So it was that sixteen enthusiastic musicians – not just mandolins but also…
We’re delighted to say that we can now offer a handlist of materials held in the IAML Library. You can find it on our website. The IAML library was set up in 1992 by IAML(UK), in response to a need on the part of music library and information professionals for ready access to information in…
Having recently returned from the IAML conference in Antwerp, my mind is still reeling with new ideas and good intentions to actually do something with them. The conference was, for me at least, a great success. The programme had a lot to offer to anyone interested in music libraries and music librarianship. The wide range…
A new initiative has recently been launched which may be of particular interest to music researchers not affiliated to academic institutions. Access to Research is a two year pilot running to January 2016 which provides free walk-in access to 1.5 million academic articles from a wide range of publications in participating public libraries across the…
A process that had its roots back in 2010 when the Prime Minister announced that IP laws would be reviewed to make them fit for the digital age, has proceeded through an independent review of intellectual property, the Government’s response, and an extensive consultation of key stakeholders, now culminating in a suite of five statutory instruments,…
The Music Libraries Trust was pleased to award nine full and part bursaries to enable winners to attend the recent IAML (UK & Irl) Annual Study Weekend held 11-13 April 2014 at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge. The aim of the MLT is to support and fund the education and training of music librarians in the UK…
IAML (UK & Irl) celebrated both institutional and individual Excellence in its recent Excellence Awards ceremony held at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge on Saturday April 12th 2014. The Excellence Awards are presented every two years and acknowledge activity in music libraries which demonstrates sustained good work and good practice with the potential to be adopted…
Rare book collections don’t often make the headlines of foreign newspapers, and when they do it is usually for the ‘wrong’ reasons – a spectacular theft, or catastrophic destruction due to fire, flood or earthquake. So it was all the more surprising to find a story in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung on 19 June last…
If you haven’t yet heard, the registration booking form for the 2014 ASW in Cambridge is now live on the IAML UK & Irl website. Run, don’t walk, and grab a place now for this amazing 48-hour affair! What is the ASW, you say? Why, the Annual Study Weekend, of course– our national conference!
This evening Radio 2 will broadcast a special edition of their flagship live music programme Friday Night is Music Night which celebrates 90 years of the BBC music library. As usual the programme will feature music drawn mostly from the lighter side of our collections, and presenter Ken Bruce will discuss the music and the…
Picture the scene: a gathering of the glitterati of the music library world together with many honoured guests all assembled at the Foundling Museum under the watchful-yet-kindly eye of Handel. A harmonious hubbub, a concerto of chatter, a chorus of celebration…Why? Because on October 22nd 2013, the United Kingdom and Ireland Branch of IAML celebrated…
To celebrate the 125th anniversary of the first performance of Gilbert and Sullivan’s operetta The Yeomen of the Guard the Royal College of Music has digitised the overture and made it available via the library website. The manuscript was bequeathed to the RCM by Arthur Sullivan and the physical copy is also on display in…