A recording courtesy of the Norwegian Institute of Recorded Sound’s 2009 Advent Calendar. The Star of Bethlehem by Stephen Adams was hugely popular in the early twentieth century. www.recordedsound.no/lyd/index.htm?filid=109 Less well known is Stephen Adams’ connection with a notorious murder case – the Maybrick poisoning. Adams was the brother of the victim, James, who was also a suspect in…
The British Library celebrates a Victorian Christmas – http://www.bl.uk/romantics-and-victorians/articles/victorian-christmas
December, this year, is a month of musical feasts with Christmas towards the end. But first, it’s Happy Hanukkah from the Judaica Sound Archive at the Recorded Sound Archives of Florida Atlantic University
Christmas with the Yorkshire Music Library. Have you sung all of these? https://uk.pinterest.com/ymlibrary/christmas-music/
A few weeks ago I was trying to sort out the blogging rota. As the MusiCB3 bloggers headed off for their Christmas breaks I was left with the Yuletide blog that will take us into the New Year. I thought I knew exactly what I was going to blog about – something festive, perhaps traditional Christmas…
Christmas with the Under-5’s at Westminster Music Library With thanks to Ruth Walters and the staff of Westminster Music Library (especially Santa!)
If you don’t use a library that often you might think that they are quiet, studious places. They are most of the time, but there’s always room for some Christmas festivities, such as this performance of an old Spanish carol by the Manchester Community Choir at Manchester Central Library…. For a performance in a really…
Christmas at the Royal Academy of Music. “Here’s one I made earlier”. Rebecca Nye created this natty Christmas tree from a used Vistaflex roll and green paper tape.
Mounting a library exhibition is an act of faith. You aim to draw attention to some aspect of the library’s collections, and hope that it will interest those who come to see it. But there’s usually no way of gauging the impact of the display other than the number of visitors coming through the doors…
“It’s Monday morning, and you’re faced with 30 sceptical 13-year-olds.” So begins Helen Wallace’s article on Ten Pieces II in this month’s BBC Music magazine, describing a scene assuredly all-too-familiar to many a secondary school music teacher. Music – and, in particular, classical music – is indeed subject to scepticism, disdain and even ridicule by…
The Bodleian Libraries’ outstanding collection of 1.3 million maps and half a million printed music scores can now be discovered by searching SOLO, the Libraries’ online catalogue. The Libraries’ maps and music collections are among the largest and most important of their kind in the UK but, until now, records for the majority of their…
Previously posted earlier today on the Cambridge University Library Music Collections blog MusiCB3
Last Thursday, the staff of Westminster Music Library marked one hundred years of women in transport with a commemorative First World War-themed sing-along. In partnership with London Transport Museum and their Battle Bus project, we sang our way through a variety of songs from the Great War era, setting the scene for a fascinating insight into…
Colin Coleman reflects on his first visit to a IAML conference. For the full article and a range of fascinating links, read the latest IAML UK/IRL newsletter, out at the end of October…. IAML and IMS’s joint conference for 2015, Music Research in the Digital Age, was set in the bright lights of one of the most…
Following on from my earlier post about ideas for introducing your library to readers – a thoughtful post from my colleague, Helen Snelling, who went to her very first IAML international conference in the summer. Although aimed more towards academic libraries; there’s plenty to think about whatever your readership. This was first posted on the…
A few weeks ago I attended LibCamp; an Unconference for librarians at Cambridge University. What is an Unconference? Well think of the way many of the ASW’s quick-fire sessions worked, but then extend each session up to 45 mins, and you’ve got an idea of the way an Unconference works. Any attendee can suggest a suitable topic,…
Are you a string player who longs to dabble in woodwind? A pianist who wants to try playing in an ensemble? Or a complete musical novice with time on your hands and neighbours to irritate? Here’s your chance. Working in partnership with the BBC’s Get Creative initiative, National charity Making Music is encouraging people to try learning…
A first time visit to Big IAML’s conference from a UK librarian. First blogged on MusiCB3.
Earlier on this year I led a session at the IAML (UK & Irl) Annual Study Weekend about Pinterest. Pinterest is a ‘virtual discovery tool’ which you can use to collate ideas in the form of a virtual pin board. Popular with designers, wedding planners and arts & crafts enthusiasts, the site Pinterest.com requires registration to create…
“Bless ‘em all! Bless ’em all! The long and the short and the tall!” So says the popular World War II song; and judging by the enthusiastic response, the long, short, tall, old and young were indeed feeling blessed by Westminster Music Library’s World War II sing-along. Our event was part of the BBC’s inaugural…
A recurring topic of conversation whenever you get librarians together is space…. No! Not that kind of space…. I’m talking about shelf room in libraries. We all want it, and we’re all running out of it. Two music collections are looking to permanently relocate:- The IAML library is currently part housed at Cambridge University Library with the archives…
The last talk of ASW 2015 was given by Ben Saul, teaching professor in Music Therapy at the Guildhall School of Music, senior lecturer at the University of the West of England, Bath, and a clinician specialising in learning disabilities and elder care. Ben raised a series of provocative questions including “What is music?” and “What…
The Music Libraries Trust was pleased to award ten full and part bursaries to enable winners to attend the recent IAML (UK & Irl) Annual Study Weekend held 10-12 April at Aston University, Birmingham. The aim of MLT is to support and fund the education and training of music librarians in the UK and Ireland….
Throughout the ASW we had “Reports and information” sessions. These were a great opportunity to see a snapshot of life in music libraries around the country. They ranged from more academic discussions to some really fun projects reaching out to the wider community. There were prizes; there were, if not tears, some very glum faces…