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Norway, report 2005-2006

2004

During 2004, the board included the following: Chair, Inger Johanne Christiansen; Treasurer, Hilde Slettedal; and Board members, Siren Steen, Kristin Berglid, Tone Nøtvik Jacobsen, Frida Røsand, Aslak Oppebøen, Jorid Nordal Baumann, and Ann Kunish.

Siren Steen was elected Chair at the annual members' meeting during the spring of 2004, but assumed leadership first in January 2005; Christiansen continued as Chair until then in order to complete all tasks associated with the IAML-IASA conference held in Oslo during August of 2004.

The conference, held 8 to 13 August 2004, was the culmination of the Association's main work for the past several years.  Although the conference had its own committee, led by Christiansen, much of the Association's time has been devoted to preparations.  The conference was a success, both socially and professionally; the various arrangements went well, and participants were able to experience Oslo at its very best, with wonderful summer weather.  Board member Siren Steen was responsible for the post-conference program in Bergen, 14 to 15 August.

Other activities

Røsand and Bauman have cooperated with Bibsys, a Norwegian supplier of information systems to libraries and institutions of higher education, on improving the system's search capabilities for music. Norwegian music web portals have been compared and discussed.

The virtual reference service Biblioteksvar.no has been presented, and the Association is in dialogue with the project leadership to define the participation of music libraries and institutions.

Dialogue with the University College's program for Library Science continues; the Association participates actively in the education of future music librarians, including annual lectures and library visits to three Oslo-area music libraries, and by hosting various seminars on music-related issues in libraries.

The Association lends its expertise to Biblioteksentralen (Norwegian Library Bureau) in regard to music cataloguing.

The annual membership meeting was held at the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation on 17 November. The featured speaker, Øyvind Norheim, held a lecture on dating older sheet music.  Twenty-four members attended the meeting. The meeting also served as a formal opportunity to thank Inger Johanne Christiansen for her many years of service as the Association's Chair.

2005

The board: President was Siren Steen; the treasurer was Tone Nøtvik Jakobsen; and the Board members were Ann Kunish, Frida Røsand, Jorid Nordal Baumann, Randi Hansen, Merete Kløften, and Aslak Oppebøen.

The Norwegian branch has 82 members, 26 of which are personal members. Due to recent changes in Norwegian legislation brought about by the implementation of EU directives, copyright has been a focus area for the Association in 2005.  Board member Ann Kunish represented IAML (Norway) in the Norwegian Library Association's (NLA) copyright work group.

The NIAML submitted an opinion on matters pertaining to our area as a contribution to the ongoing work on a national Library Report, as well as to the NLA's debate booklet for strategy (Vision and Reality) and the Norwegian Music Council's reorganisation process.

The process to include some music departments in the national «Ask the Library» digital reference service (biblioteksvar.no), has continued.  The participating departments have received training.

After it was brought to our attention that elective courses in music for third-year students were removed from the curriculum, representatives from IAML (Norway) have met with the Head of Studies at Oslo University College's Faculty of Journalism, Library and Information Science to discuss possibilities for maintaining music as part of the degree program.  Board member Tone Nøtvik Jakobsen held the last course in music information for the students during the spring of 2005.  The Head of Studies has promised to work toward including music as an integral part of the curriculum.

Biblioteksentralen AL, a resource center for libraries in Norway, has contacted IAML (Norway) to ask for guidance in regard to cataloguing.  Tone Nøtvik Jakobsen held a very successful seminar, with special emphasis on uniform titles.

The National Sound Archive Conference was arranged in Oslo on 20 to 21 October.  In connection with the conference, the board of NMLA held a meeting with Ole Bisbjerg, head of our sister organisation in Denmark, to discuss a Nordic cooperative effort and a cooperative Scandinavian initiative to IAML concerning the organisation of future IAML conferences/congresses.

Siren Steen