Roma 2016 was my 10th IAML congress and I returned as usual full of enthusiasm. I would even dare go further and say that it felt like one of the most successful conferences since I first attended at San Sebastian in 1998, when I was the fresh and relatively young face from Antwerp Conservatoire Library.
All the fun of the opening session – “big” IAML meets in Rome.
This has been a fantastic year for Westminster Music Library’s Choir Joint Force Singers, since 2015, they have performed at prestigious venues and events from Lords MCC to Pimlico Proms, Westminster’s Community awards to the magnificent Guards Chapel at Wellington Barracks. And it was at the Guards Chapel that our grand finale concert took place,…
You may recall the “Free our History” campaign back in 2015 which sought to lobby the UK government into bringing unpublished text based works back to the normal term of lifetime plus 70 years. Unfortunately that wasn’t successful in persuading the government, which means the 2039 rule is still proving costly for libraries and institutions….
Strife, spirit and soul were the themes of a spectacular performance by Westminster Music Library’s own Joint Force Singers. Think choir concerts are boring? Joint Force Singers made us think again, with their showcase of music in a wide range of styles, periods and even languages! The impressive Guards’ Chapel at Wellington Barracks played host…
“The power of music to integrate and cure . . . is quite fundamental. It is the profoundest nonchemical medication.” – Oliver Sacks Westminster Music Library’s five month programme of mindfulness workshops – Humming in Harmony – clearly demonstrates how true this statement is. These simple workshops, designed to improve mental health and beat isolation,…
At Hertfordshire Libraries: Performing Arts we are delighted to receive a 2016 IAML Excellence Award. One of 13 libraries to be recognised, the panel “noted the number of warm and kind comments from users of the service. The access to the service, including long opening hours and a one hour enquiry response was particularly commended. …
The Barbican Music Library team was thrilled to receive its 3rd IAML Excellence Award; in this era of uncertainty for public services it is heartwarming to receive recognition from colleagues who understand the challenges that we all face. We would like to extend our sincerest thanks to Professor Jan Smaczny and the other panel members…
Library staff at the Royal Northern College of Music were delighted to win a third IAML (UK & Irl) award for Excellence in Music Libraries, as were other staff and students in the College who have congratulated the Library staff via e-mail or in person. It is very affirming to receive recognition from professional colleagues to…
The staff of the Gerald Coke Handel Collection at the Foundling Museum collected a IAML Excellence Award at the Annual Study weekend in Manchester recently. With only two part-time staff, and occasional volunteers, we look after the Gerald Coke Handel Collection of around 10,000 items from the eighteenth century to the present, and provide facilities for study…
The Whittaker Library at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland was a proud recipient of a 2016 IAML Excellence award this year: an award which means a great deal to the Library team and an award which gives us a fantastic opportunity to raise our profile both externally, but most crucially on occasion, internally too. We…
On Saturday the 2nd of April, in a swish hotel on the outskirts of Manchester’s vibrant City Centre during this years’ ASW, we paused while the red carpet was rolled out and the assembled delegates were transformed with sparkly frocks, frightening ‘up dos’ and slick tuxedos… well maybe not quite that sparkly or frightening, but…
IAML (UK & Irl) celebrated both institutional and individual Excellence at its recent Excellence Awards ceremony held at Chancellor’s Hotel, Manchester on Saturday 2nd April 2016. 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 and adapted by others….
The Academic Music Librarians’ Seminar 2016 Tube, train, Magical bus, a little dash and I’m in, just in the nick of time (or almost) for this year’s Academic Music Librarians’ Seminar. Run parallel to the Public Libraries Seminar, it is arguably one of the most unmissable of all the Annual Study Weekend’s completely unmissable gatherings,…
As many of you will know, Yorkshire Music Library has closed. The speed of the closure meant that some borrowers were left in limbo not sure where / how they are going to get their music or where to return it. There was good news today from the Music and Performing Arts department at Leeds Central Library,…
It is hard to believe that my term of office as President will come to an end at the Annual General Meeting at the beginning of April 2016. The time seems to have flown by at an incredible speed. However, the Branch has done a huge amount and I thought it might be a good…
The Gerald Coke Handel Collection, housed in the Foundling Museum, has acquired a letter describing the first Handel Commemoration Concerts. Taking place at Westminster Abbey in 1784, this series of concerts commemorated the twenty-fifth anniversary of the composer’s death. The acquired letter is written by Mrs Henry Bates, sister of Joah Bates who led the Commemoration…
Diana Wood was an E.T. Bryant prize winner in 2015 for her dissertation on The Music Collections of Cambridge University : An investigation into perceptions of the value of user-generated content in a special collections catalogue. Here are some further thoughts a year on…. “I came to research and write my dissertation almost by chance….
Reposted from MusiCB3, the blog of Cambridge University Library Music Collections.
You can never have too much Messiah. A very Happy Christmas to music librarians and their readers everywhere. May you have a wonderful festive season, and a music-filled New Year. See you in 2016! Thanks to Paul Nash and the librarians of Oxford University for welcoming Christmas in style.
It’s nearly here…. Many thanks to Paul W. Nash and the librarians of Oxford University for today and tomorrow’s posts.
Examine the manuscript of Handel’s Messiah. Although the full score hasn’t been digitised yet, much of the Christmas music has been photographed, and you can listen to the festive chorus For unto us a child is born. Courtesy of the British Library. http://www.bl.uk/turning-the-pages/?id=38fd72b2-5b98-4fc2-aaae-98e717e8d512&type=book
Listening to carols in Padstow on the phone – A lovely interview about bygone Christmases from the Bob & Jacqueline Patten English Folk Music Collection at the BL : http://sounds.bl.uk/World-and-traditional-music/Bob-and-Jacqueline-Patten-Collection/025M-C1033X0271XX-1800V0 And how does this connect to Stargazy pie? Listen to the interview.
Last Tuesday’s Christmas showcase at Westminster Music Library was anything but a “Silent Night”, as our very own Joint Force Singers Choir* gave their debut public performance in festive style. Keen followers of Westminster Music Library’s community events may already know about our flagship choir, whose activities so far have included interactive workshops in the…