IAML International Association of Music Libraries

Last year our Dutch branch retained roughly the same number of members.

We extended our national Board, so that now music conservatories, research libraries, music documentation centres and public libraries (bigger and smaller ones) as well as orchestral and broadcast libraries are now represented. All committees are represented on the board as well.

Our board is highly dependent on other institutions for a successful development in the field of musical library work. This means that we have to convince, stimulate, keep in touch, again and again, in many subjects. A year is short, developing and realizing new ideas takes much time, often much more than expected. Some of our activities are visible, others take place behind the curtain and will only emerge after a long period of preparation.

As to the subject of copyright, when the European directives will be implemented in our national legislation, there will be important changes as far as copying printed music is concerned.

As to outreach, I must confess, that again this year no concrete action was undertaken. We will try to get involved as soon as we know of a collection being dropped anywhere.

Inter-library loan is changing in a positive direction through new national initiatives and our I-L-L committee will see to it that music will be included in these developments. The link with ICT is very strong on this subject and our coordinator in this field is now on the I-L-L committee as well.

The importance of national ICT initiatives like www.bibliotheek.nl and the national “information desk” for public libraries (www.aladin.nl) is still growing.

Again our Program-committee organised two meetings, one about rational collection management and digitized sources and another about new tendencies in public library – the experience-library (“belevenis-bibliotheek”) – as well as new thoughts about fundraising and the role of the Authorities.

The Education committee organised an elementary course in music theory, the history of classical music and printed music for different music genres. This 3-day course for small groups of front-office employees in public libraries was low-cost and was given 3 times at different places in the Netherlands. It was a success, about 50 people were present and there are requests for repetition.

In the meantime the committee concerned is preparing a new course. The subject will be questions about pop-music at the information desk. This subject was suggested by people who were present at our last course and chosen by our members at our annual meeting in May this year.

The editorial staff of our Newsletter and website produced three Newsletters and kept us up to date at the newly designed website.

Still, discussion between members is not very vivid. We’re trying to extend involvement, as we do for the 2009 conference in the Netherlands. To start with, outlines are being framed and more new delegates than ever are here in Oslo to become more familiar with IAML subjects and to see what is happening here.

Again, there is much work to do, but it is worthwhile!

Gert Floor
President NVMB (Netherlands)

• More reports for 2003