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Finland, report 1993

This time at least a few hundred of you already know what the Finnish Branch was doing during the year 1993! Organizing the annual meeting of IAML and the joint meeting of IAML, IASA, and IAMIC was, indeed, the whole year's focus, but instead of telling you colourful stories about that, I simply present the cold facts of 1993.

At the end of 1993, the Finnish Branch had 73 members, 50 of which represented different institutions and 23 of whom were individual members. The economic situation of the Branch was not so strong in the beginning of the year, but when all the bills of the Helsinki meeting had been paid, the financial facts showed a small surplus. Total receipts were FIM 412,168 and expenditures FIM 408,731.

The Board members in 1993 were: Chair, Heikki Poroila (Vantaa City Library), Vice Chair Maija Suhonen (Helsinki University Library), Secretary & Treasurer Seija Lappalainen (University of Helsinki, Department of Musicology); and Kaisu Ollila Jyväskylä University Library), Kitty von Wright (Sibelius Museum), Risto Korhonen (Finnish Music Information Center) , Elina Rauhala (Kangasala Public Library), Riitta Tingander (Library of Sibelius Academy) , Eeva-Liisa Sankola (Finnish Broadcasting Company, Record Library) , Jukka Tamrnilehto (Library Service Ltd), Minna Mäkelin (Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Music Library) , Pirjo Hakuni (Tampere City Library), Riitta Aalto-Koistinen (Helsinki City Library). The board held six meetings during 1993.

The annual meeting was held at the WSOY Publishing House in February. Problems of publishing music books in Finnish were discussed at this meeting, and the discussion continued later the same year. The Finnish Branch has made an initiative in organizing the cooperation of smaller publishers interested in musical topics.

Information was provided to the members by the branch's journal Intervalli (ISSN 0785-2843). Four issues (all in Finnish) were published (total number of pages was 204, and about 250 copies of each were printed and circulated). The editors of Intervalli were EIina Rauhala (chief) and Heikki Poroila. Among the topics in 1993 were: EC and Finnish music libraries (especially copyright legislation and project JUKEBOX) , FIN- MARC format and music, IAML Guidelines and recommendations far the collection of music library statistics (in Finnish) , CD ROMs and music libraries, lists of Finnish and foreign Gold Records in Finland 1971-1993, IAML/IASNIAMIC in Helsinki (a Special Issue) , experiences in music cataloguing programs in several large library systems (LIBSI00plus and Finnish KIRI and PALLAS systems) , and "What to do with the old LPs?".

Five titles, all but one in Finnish, were published in the series Suomen musiikkikir-jastoyhdistyksen julkaisusarja (ISSB 0780-0322). The editor of the series was Heikki Poroila. The publications were:

  • 15. Suomalaiset musiikkilehdet edited by Sanna Karttunen[Finnish Music Journals - a catalogue] by Maija Suhonen (ISBN 951-8903-14-X).
  • 30. Musiikin luettelointi ja sisällönkuvailu [Cataloguing and classification of music] by Heikki Poroila and Kyösti Mäkelä (ISBN 951-8903-29-8).
  • 35. Yhtenäistetty Joseph Haydn [Catalogue of works with uniform titles - Haydn] by Heikki Poroila (ISBN 951-8903-34-4).
  • 36. Directory of Music Libraries in Finland 1993 (ISBN 951-8903-35-2).
  • 39. Yhtenäistetty Dieterich Buxtehude [Catalogue of works with uniform titles- Buxtehude] by Jaakko Tuohiniemi (ISBN 951-8903-38-7).

International activities of the Branch focused on the Helsinki meeting in August. In addition the Branch invited Aurika Gergeležiu from the National Library of Estonia to Helsinki, Tampere, and Jyväskylä for a study week in May.

I would like to use this forum to thank all of you who attended the Helsinki meeting in August 1993 for your wonderful companionship during the week. Many of you were kind enough to remember us afterwards, too, with postcards, letters, and unique photographs. Good memories, fresh ideas, and many new friends to meet again, who could ask for more?

Heikki Poroila,
Chair, Finnish Branch