IAML International Association of Music Libraries

Subject: Call for Papers by IAML Public library Branch. Amsterdam, august 16th 2005

Dear National Branch,

As a newly appointed Branch for the Public Libraries we like to put two questions to you, inform you of our intentions for the future and present ourselves.

The IAML Public Library Branch is interested to receive ideas, subjects and proposals for lectures/speakers from the National branches of IAML for next year's conference in Sweden.
As you will be aware a deadline for papers for the conference in Gothenburg 2006 is due in the beginning of October 2005, so we hope to have some response before mid September.
Of course it is customary to start asking for papers in neighbouring countries as much as possible, so for 2006 we will especially focus on offers we hope to receive from the Northern European countries.
We are also anxious to start asking for ideas for future conferences, so a deadline will not seem as near right after conference each year!

How do we go from here as your IAML Public Library Branch?

We will all be aware of the fact that, though we are with many colleagues working in Public Libraries all over the world, this will never really be noticeable during the IAML conferences.
Only 14% of the attendees in Warsaw were Public Librarians and that will probably not be different in the future.
Most of us will only be able to attend a conference if this is organised in our own or in a neighbouring country.
This means we will have to deal with the organisation and communication of our branch in a different and much more structured way, in order to reach (out to) all our colleagues.

So this is what we, as your Public Library Branch, are aiming at:

• We want to create a network of back-offices for public libraries in each country, a group of colleagues who will deal with both the communication nationwide as internationally in IAML. This way we, in IAML, will be able to operate as a group and, with the more organised back-up of the colleagues at home, we will have a more solid base and will thus be more able to give each other the support/new input we are looking for.
• The IAML conference attendees will report back to the Back-office and from there to the network of each individual colleague involved.

It is possible that an identical group of colleagues already exists in your country, if this is the case we would like to hear about that. The Back-office Public Libraries (BOP), would be a group of colleagues who will have at least 1 person in their midst who attends IAML conferences regularly and is aware of the IAML routine.
It would also be nice to have a number of colleagues from different sizes of public libraries in the BOP.
We like to start with a BOP of at least 4 or 5 persons in each country and invite you to take part in this process in your country too.

IAML Toolbox:

Some time ago the IAML Toolbox working group has asked the National Branches for a national representative especially for the Toolbox.
Now that we are about to develop our Branch further it is useful to realise that we like this person to act as part of the new BOP.
For the moment this mail is send to you from outside the Toolbox environment, in the near future this will of course be done as part of this new virtual communication network for the Public libraries.

Let us present ourselves to you all:

• Hanneke Kuiper (chair) : Music librarian Public Library of Amsterdam. Attendee of IAML conferences, with much pleasure, since Périgueux 2001.
  Part of my daily work is the acquisition of printed music and literature on music. We have some special collections in the library like the Toonkunst - Bibliotheek, a research library, with which we share the music department since the 1920's. A special collection on the piano, the EPTA Documentation Centre. Soundcollections on Jazz and Worldmusic.
  I'm co-ordinator of Al@din Domain Music, the national digital information service of the Public Libraries in my country, we deal with the questions on music and work in a team of 10 colleagues from various parts in the Netherlands.
  Active in a committee to improve Inter library loan for printed music and now part of a working group that is busy planning a project for the (older) music collections of big-city libraries.
  Since 2 years I'm a member in the board of National Branch in the Netherlands, the NVMB and looking forward to help organise the IAML-conference in Amsterdam in 2009.
• Kirsten Husted (vice chair): Head of the Music Library at Vejle Bibliotek in Denmark. The collection has 45.000 cd's, access to music down load and a large collection of printed music, Sheetmusic online, music literature and periodicals.
  I'm vice president of the Danish IAML Branch.
  I have just finished a term as Chair of the Public Library Branch and happy to be able to take another 'round' as the new vice chair.
• Corinne Brun (secretary): I'm librarian in the Cité de la Musique since 1991.The new library in The Cité, which will open in September, will be more accessible for different users, from amateur to professional.
  We don't lend, but we have many projects which are similar to those of the Public Libraries and that's why I am interested in the Branch. I was a music librarian in the Public library of Paris since 1982.
  My first IAML conference was in Prague and I am a regular visitor ever since.

We will work as a team for the next 3 years and will act as part of the developments in the Back-office for Public libraries as well as the IAML Toolbox. We thank you for your co-operation and support!

With kind regards, on behalf of the Public Library Branch, Hanneke Kuiper

Report from IAML conference in Warsaw