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Homepage > List of Annual Reports > Annual Report 2003 IAML(UK & Irl) Annual Report 2003CONTENTS
President's Report: Susi WoodhouseI can hardly believe that this is my third and final report to you as Branch President, but it is indeed the case. This year has, I think I can safely say, been like no other, and before I lay down the Presidential pen (or keyboard) I would like to look back in astonishment at all the Branch has achieved. This year has, of course, been dominated by the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Branch, and has provided not only a time to celebrate our achievements, but also a time to take stock, assess the changes that have taken place, to reaffirm a sense of purpose and to look ahead at what the future may hold. Branch members (of whom we have some 250) are united by their shared passion for music, by a strong sense of commitment, a keen sense of purpose and a wealth of expertise. It is this expertise upon which the Branch has drawn during its 50–year life. It is this expertise which has resulted in many notable achievements (think, for example of the work to develop the ISMN, the Music LIP and its successor Access to Music, ICT–based projects such as Encore! and Cecilia, and the range of training courses the Branch provides). It is this expertise which we must ensure continues to be available in the future through maintaining a high profile for the work of IAML(UK & Irl) and its impact on the profession and users alike. Sadly, specialist staff have all too often fallen victim to the inexorable march of cutbacks over the years, but it is my hope that the greater general understanding and appreciation of the importance of libraries, archives and specialist institutions we are now seeing will bring a turn in the tide and that such expertise will once again be a valued asset. Displaying its typical spirit of adventure, the Branch has already begun to map out an ambitious programme for itself, encapsulated in what must be one of the most ambitious undertakings to date — Access to Music, our ten–year strategy with its modest 134 recommendations. Incredibly, Access to Music, (thanks to agreement from the Research Support Libraries Programme that money from the Ensemble project could be used to fund work), was researched, written and published in just six short months. The prime movers in all of this were Pam Thompson and Malcolm Lewis to whom the Branch owes an immeasurable debt. I don't know how they did it in the time (and, probably, neither do they!). Our Jubilee celebrations took place on 1st July 2003 at the British Library and were attended by the glitterati of the music library world. We kicked off in style and raised the roof with a birthday fanfare composed for the occasion by Geoff Thomason and spent a couple of hours letting our hair down. We assembled an impressive array of past, present and future Branch Presidents who all (somehow) managed to cut a magnificent cake, raised our glasses to the future and — unable to turn off the achievement mode — launched Cecilia, Access to Music and Concert Programmes in the UK and Ireland: A Preliminary Report by Rupert Ridgewell, and announced the decision to institute an award for excellence in music libraries. We received a splendid message of support from John Roberts, President of IAML, as follows: Dear Susi, Thank you for the opportunity to send my congratulations to the United Kingdom and Ireland branch on its Golden Jubilee. No branch of our association has made a greater contribution to IAML from the moment of its founding, wherever that is construed to have taken place, to the present moment. Many of your members, not least our illustrious Past President, Pam Thompson, have played and continue to play leading roles in the work of IAML at the international level, while on the national level (perhaps I should say "bi–national") you have created an extraordinarily vigorous and far–reaching professional program that should serve as a model for many other countries. Your distinguished journal Brio is read and admired by music librarians around the world. Personally I must say that many of my most valued colleagues have been British, and many of my most rewarding research experiences have been in British libraries (unfortunately I have had little chance to visit Ireland). I wish I could be with you on this happy day. Failing that, it gives me great pleasure to salute from afar and to wish all of you continuing success in your many admirable endeavors.
John Roberts It was our great pleasure at the 2003 AGM to bestow Honorary Membership on Liz Hart. Liz's sustained and significant contribution to Branch activities has spanned a number of years, most recently as Courses and Education Officer, in which role she has achieved a major contribution to professional development opportunities for all those who need to work with music materials, whether as specialist staff or front desk. She has instigated a continued upward trend in the number of courses given, helped develop presentations to library schools and been involved in the creation of First Stop for Music. She was the General Secretary of IAML(UK) from 1973–79, a member of several Branch committees, has written articles for Fontes and Brio and has been involved internationally as the Secretary of the Public Libraries Branch. Her first role within IAML(UK) was as Brio advertising manager, and ever since then she has been indispensable to the Branch. So I shall end on this high by saying thank to you everyone who has contributed to our cornucopia of activities this past year...and by wishing Kathy Adamson every success in her term as President. Finally, as long ago as 1967, Imogen Holst in an article in Brio, the Branch journal, observed that "music librarians are without doubt the most helpful people on earth". I couldn't agree more! Executive Committee IAML(UK & Irl) committees and working groups listed in this report demonstrate the wide range of areas of activity in which the Branch is engaged and a mere listing of names cannot do justice to the immense amount of sheer hard work, time and effort which has been expended on behalf of the Branch. For 2003/04 there have been some changes in that Roy Stanley has joined us as an elected member to represent Irish interests and we also welcomed Claire Marsh to the Executive. Huge thanks are due to Jay Glasby who retired as Press and Publicity Officer in the spring of 2003, and to Kathy Adamson who stepped down as Branch Treasurer and was immediately appointed to the post of Branch President Elect. We also welcomed Peter Linnitt who took over the cheque book as Treasurer from Kathy, and in October 2003 Chris Pressler as our new Press and Publicity Officer. Membership There have, inevitably, been changes to the committees and project groups the Branch supports and we record our thanks to all those not previously mentioned: David Robinson as local representative for the Leicester ASW, Ceri Mann as Bookings Secretary for the ASW, Anna Grigson and Michaela Hewitt from Courses and Education, Marion Hogg from Trade and Copyright, Almut Boehme as C.B. Oldman Prize convenor, Nicholas Williams from the E.T. Bryant Prize Committee, and the entire membership of the Festschrift Committee: Richard Turbet (Convenor), Kathy Adamson, Geoff Thomason, John Tyrrell. Equally we would like to welcome the following: Bridget Palmer to the Conference Committee, Jane Henshaw and Amelie Roper to Courses and Education, Anne Elliott to Trade and Copyright, Emma Costello to the C.B. Oldman Prize Committee, Christopher Cipkin to the E.T. Bryant Prize Committee, and Pam Thompson, John Gough, Malcolm Lewis and John Tyrrell who form the newly–constituted Golden Clef Award Committee. Conference: Antony GordonThe 2003 Annual Study Weekend was held in April at Stamford Hall, University of Leicester. Attendance was good, with 100 participants in all. The site was quite compact and facilities good. Close proximity to the Botanical Gardens was a bonus for those attending. In the first session on Friday evening Dr Robert Meikle introduced William Gardiner of Leicester, a Beethoven enthusiast at a time when he was almost unknown in Britain. After the talk the Birmingham Ensemble gave a performance of Beethoven's String Trio Op.3 — a work that had received its British première at Gardiner's instigation Saturday morning's sessions followed the familiar pattern of Report and Information that delegates find so valuable. Reports were presented on a variety of current projects including: Access to Music (the new music LIP), the EU PULMAN project, the Concert Programmes Project, the various digitization projects containing music from the New Opportunities Fund's EnrichUK website (the end product of its £50 million digitisation programme), Encore!, Cecilia, RILM, RISM and the Boosey Project. The second session gave opportunities to raise matters of information and current professional concern in UK and Irish music libraries. The afternoon's principal organized activity was a trip to Burghley House, the Elizabethan home of the Cecil family. During the visit Gerald Gifford, Honorary Keeper of Music at Burghley, gave a short harpsichord recital. On Saturday evening Andrew Simons, formerly Jazz Curator at the British Library Sound Archive introduced the little–known area of Black British Swing of the 1930s and 1940s using musical and oral history excerpts. Sunday morning was taken up with three seminars, each presented once: Issues in Professional Development, Digital Preservation, and e–Resources in music. These were followed by a plenary session that involved all seminar participants and attempted to sum up the business of each seminar. The AGM and presentation of prizes formed the first sessions of the afternoon, then, preceding the annual dinner, Richard Turbet formally introduced 'Music librarianship in the United Kingdom' the Festschrift he had edited to celebrate the Branch's fifty years of achievement. The after dinner speech saw the welcome return of Roger Taylor after a couple of years' absence. In Monday morning's first session Christina Bashford of Oxford Brookes University gave a session entitled 'Chamber music, the Victorians and the man from Leicester Musical Union'. In the final session of the ASW Noëlle Mann of the Prokofiev Archive in London displayed a piece of musical archaeology in action where works by Prokofiev were reconstructed from dispersed fragments. The conference was drawn to a close with a summing up by the President. The success of such an event depends of course on a great deal of hard work from the members of the committee to whom I here give thanks: Linda Anthony, Roger Firman, Jay Glasby, Glynis Hillier (Secretary), Ceri Mann (Bookings Secretary), Graham Muncy and the local representative Dave Robinson (who was unfortunately not able to be present at the ASW). Courses and Education: Liz HartThis year saw the continuation of our established programme of courses, visits and meetings, and an increasing contribution to formal education for the profession. In addition, the revised careers guide Working with music in libraries was published in April, with a web version available on the Branch's home page, while the First stop for music information pack went on selling steadily. The ever–popular Music for the terrified course ran three times, at the Surrey Performing Arts Library in March, Chesterfield Library in May, and in–house for the London Borough of Wandsworth also in May. This was followed by the course on managing performance sets, "40 copies of Messiah please...", at Camden Town Library in London on 30 October. The Surrey Performing Arts Library featured again in June as joint venue, along with the Royal School of Church Music, for the first of the year's visits, hosted respectively by Graham Muncy and John Henderson. Two notable music collections situated in close proximity in delightful rural Surrey drew an enthusiastic attendance, as did the November trip to Dundee where David Kett introduced the exciting range of resources available at the newly completed Wighton Heritage Centre for the study and appreciation of Scottish music. Another successful Academic Librarians' Seminar took place at Birmingham Central Music Library in May, giving music librarians from the education sector a much–needed opportunity to meet, network and update their resource knowledge. Paul Banks surveyed the history of collected editions with particular reference to the New Berlioz Edition, while Simon Wright gave an outline of current practices in music hire. Pam Thompson linked in to the current concerns of music academic staff with her report from the recent NAMHE conference, and short news items included information on the transfer of the Boosey & Hawkes Archive to the RCM, and OUP's acquisition of Grove and other Macmillan publications. An article in the Spring/Summer 2003 issue of Brio, "Managing a music collection in the 21st century", described the presentation on music librarianship given for the first time in 2002 to students at four library and information management departments, which the committee hoped would become an annual fixture at these and other universities. This has indeed come to pass, with Brighton University, University College London, and University of Sheffield now added to the original four (University College Dublin, London Metropolitan University, Manchester Metropolitan University and Strathclyde University), and another two departments showing interest. This growing collaboration with providers of formal professional education is particularly apposite in the context of the proposed new Framework of Qualifications, which CILIP's Marion Huckle outlined at a seminar on issues in professional development at the Leicester Annual Study Weekend. Subsequently CILIP has welcomed the Branch's closer liaison with them over training matters, in particular to ensure that the interests of music librarianship are fully represented in the current review of accreditation procedures. Thanks are due to Anna Grigson and Michaela Hewitt for their contribution to the committee's work, both having resigned due to pressure of other commitments. Jane Henshaw and Amelie Roper joined the team of Liz Bird, Margaret Brandram, Christopher Cipkin, Linda Marsden and Frances Metcalfe who have been tireless in promoting and maintaining Courses and Education activities. Neither could we function without the support of colleagues pressed into service as trainers, presenters and hosts — they are too many to mention individually, but their unstinting help is greatly appreciated. Documentation: Roy StanleyFollowing a quiet period, the committee reconvened in October to review recent developments in its areas of interest and to consider future directions. We were pleased to note real and substantial progress in several projects which the committee had initiated or discussed in recent years. It was especially gratifying to see the project begun as Mildred in 1998 come to fruition as Cecilia at its launch in July, and to hear that early in 2004 this project will become established as a service hosted by Cornucopia (the museums collection description database funded by Resource). Congratulations to all involved, and especially to successive project managers: Peter Linnitt (in its Mildred phase), Paul Andrews and Katharine Hogg. A full report on Cecilia can be read later in this Report. Access to concert programmes as a research resource has long been a concern of the Documentation Committee. We therefore warmly welcome Rupert Ridgewell's excellent report Concert programmes in the UK and Ireland, commissioned by the Music Libraries Trust and subsequently published. The report contains valuable information on programme collections in the UK and Ireland, and forms a solid platform on which to build a detailed database of collection descriptions to be added to Cecilia. Cardiff University and the Royal College of Music have recently submitted a joint application to the AHRB for funding to take this project forward. Following her move from Royal Holloway College to the University of Nottingham, Dr. Sarah Hibberd has had to relinquish her position as UK RILM co–ordinator. We thank her for her sterling work over the past five years, during which time monograph abstracts have been brought up to date and coverage of dissertations greatly extended. The new co–ordinator is Dr. Anna McCready, whose immediate priorities are to test new software which will allow direct input of data and thus reduce the delay in publication of abstracts on the main RILM website, and to encourage more authors to submit abstracts of their publications. Current funding of this post expires in April 2004; a new bid to fund a 3–year part–time post has been submitted to the AHRB, led this time by Sarah Hibberd based at Nottingham. The result of this application will be known in May 2004. Having mentioned two funding bids whose outcome is not yet decided, we can now celebrate one major success. The current phase of the UK contribution to RISM Series A/II (relating largely to music manuscripts in national, public and academic libraries in Britain and Ireland) ends in May 2004. Earlier this year its project director Prof. David Charlton submitted a new application to the AHRB Resource Enhancement Scheme for the next 3–year phase, which will cover cathedral and private collections. In late November the news came through that the AHRB has accepted the application and will fund the new phase in full. This outcome is a great credit to all involved, especially Prof. Charlton, project manager Dr. Sandra Tuppen, and the staff at Royal Holloway. Some of the fruits of this endeavour will become apparent in the coming year when a free website for searching the data is due to be launched (including a facility for searching by musical incipit as well as standard bibliographic terms). Data will also be added to the international RISM database, which is accessible as a subscription service via NISC. Two recent developments in the field of musicology in Ireland deserve mention here. Firstly, a new Society for Musicology in Ireland (SMI) has been established. As well as taking the work of the Irish RILM committee under its wing, it has also initiated a RISM committee. Next yearÕs ASW in Dublin will provide an opportunity to forge links with SMI members, which we hope will be of mutual benefit to both organisations. In May the National Library of Ireland launched its Music Collections Project. Earlier it had appointed Emma Costello as its first music librarian, with the initial aim of organising and cataloguing its existing music holdings and publicising them through NLI's website and online catalogue. Through development of an active acquisitions programme and in cooperation with the Contemporary Music Centre in Dublin, the longer–term objective is to establish a comprehensive archive of Irish composers at NLI. Further reports on this exciting initiative can be read in Brio vol. 40 no. 2 (Autumn/Winter 2003). The Access to Music report by Pam Thompson and Malcolm Lewis contains a wealth of information and ideas for the development of music library provision in the UK and Ireland, including a number of recommendations relating to documentation issues. The Documentation Committee hopes to help advance some of these in the year ahead, beginning with the idea of a subject portal for music ("Fanfare"). By developing a framework for such a portal (perhaps elaborating on the existing resources page of the IAML(UK & Irl) website) we can at least make some practical contribution to any future funding bid. Finally, as a newcomer to this committee I would like to express my thanks to each of the members for their encouragement and input, and especially to Katharine Hogg (secretary) and Chris Banks (recent past chairman) for their advice and assistance. Resource–Discovery Projects: Chris BanksThe UK music library and research communities continue to benefit from the funding available to HE institutions through the AHRB Resource Enhancement Scheme. Three projects initiated by IAML have had a welcome boost of funds from this scheme over the last few years: RILM Abstracts of Music Literature RISM We were delighted hear in December that Phase III of the project, scheduled to cover manuscripts in Cathedral and Private Collections, has been awarded a further major tranche of funding by the AHRB and will continue directly on from Phase II. More of this in the 2004 Annual Report. Hofmeister Hofmeister was primarily a monthly (or bi–monthly) publishers' listing of recent and forthcoming music publications and recorded the activities of over 550 publishers in more than 20 countries, with the emphasis being on German–speaking countries. It is probably the largest bibliography of music ever published during the nineteenth century, and indeed it continues to flourish today as the Deutsche Nationalbibliographie. In addition to being an invaluable dating tool for printed music of this period, Hofmeister also enables an insight into musical tastes and trends. Hofmeister was primarily aimed at the trade and that so few copies survive today reflects this, and the fact that at various points both annual and 5–yearly cumulations were published, rendering the monthly issues obsolete. No complete run of the monthly issues is known to survive in a library collection, though several very substantial runs are known. Those that do survive, and are known about, are becoming increasingly fragile; they were mostly printed on thin, acidic woodpulp paper which is beginning to deteriorate. The aim of the Working Group was to produce a text–based database of the information contained in Hofmeister for the period 1817–1900, and to facilitate computerised searching with the aid of additional enhancements. The latest of the Group's rather tortuous attempts at securing funding for this project bore fruit in the form of yet another AHRB Resource Enhancement scheme grant, this time to Professor Nicholas Cook through Southampton University. Professor Cook's move from Southampton to Royal Holloway in January 2004 will, by a quirk of fate, mean the Hofmeister xix project, together with RILM and RISM will all be located at the same institution! In addition, therefore, to owing a great debt of gratitude to the AHRB and to those who have expressed support for the RILM, RISM and Hofmeister projects, we also owe enormous thanks to the staff at Royal Holloway, and in particular James Dack, David Charlton, Andrew Wathey and, as of January 2004, Nicholas Cook. Trade and Copyright: Ruth HellenThe year started on a very positive note, with helpful discussions with the Music Publishers Association on a revised Code of Fair Practice. The process was hampered, however, by having to wait for revisions to copyright law; there was little point in producing a new Code until the changes had been made public. So this turned into another year of waiting. Having been promised that the terms of the European copyright directive would be incorporated into national law during March 2003, the 'summer' implementation finally came into force at the end of October. There are changes, but as far as most libraries are concerned one of the major amendments concerns the use of material for commercial purposes. Helpful guidelines can be found on the websites of the British Library and LACA. The LACA update includes details of The Copyright (Visually Impaired Persons) Act 2002, which also became law at the end of October. Once the MPA has finalised the new Code of Fair Practice, we will be in a position to produce guidance for music libraries. Following the change of name of the Library Association, CILIP's copyright adviser approached the British Phonographic Industry with a view to revising the LA/BPI licence for lending sound recordings. We held a preliminary meeting with BPI officers and, at the time of writing, are waiting for further news. In the meantime, it was necessary to remind public libraries that the holdback is still in force and that the need for a licence has not been affected by the changes in copyright law. Music librarians involved with the provision of videos have been affected by the decisions of the major producers to require rental and lending outlets to purchase specific rental versions, at higher prices. Thanks to welcome negotiations by the supply sector, the situation is currently slightly better, but the future for video rental is uncertain, and libraries are advised to budget wisely. Our main goal should be to provide information in the most relevant format; income generation should not be the prime reason for providing this service. In the wider copyright field, Richard Chesser continues as the IAML(UK & Irl) representative on the Libraries and Archives Copyright Alliance and is a member of the IFLA Committee on Copyright and Other Legal Matters. I have now been CILIP's public libraries representative on LACA for a year and have been involved in discussions with the DCMS concerning the lending of audio books, another item of interest for some music librarians. Further information will appear in due course. BRIO: Geoff ThomasonIt feels somewhat odd to be writing this as 2003 draws to a close, knowing that it will next see the light of day when it is read around June 2004. By then a whole new issue of Brio, as yet barely conceived, will have entered the world kicking and screaming, and preparations will already have been put in hand for its successor. The role of a report, though, is to look back, and the year on which we look back has been for the UK and Ireland Branch of IAML, one of the most eventful that many of us can remember. My task was to produce two issues of Brio which lived up to the achievements with which others had triumphantly honoured the Branch in its Golden Jubilee year. Some of those achievements were reflected in articles published in the 2003 issues. Rupert Ridgewell, for example, contributed a substantial overview of his Union catalogue of Concert Programmes to the spring issue, and Pam Thompson condensed the meaty content of Access to Music into a similar article for the winter issue. Both issues have tried, as ever, to maintain a balance between what might be termed "reporting" contributions such as these, articles about the core disciplines of music librarianship and the fruits of musicological research. A personal favourite in the last category was Karen McAulay's article on the James Simpson manuscripts at the RSAMD in the spring issue, a real detective story complete with illustrations which are now becoming a regular feature of the journal. At the opposite extreme, Ian Ledsham's translation from the French of a lengthy French classification scheme for sound recordings was a true labour of love. It's also been a pleasure to welcome new contributors such as Wendy Harrisson, who wrote about the antiquarian music collection at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama for the spring issue, or Geraldine Auerbach, who introduced the Jewish Music Archive in the winter one, alongside seasoned contributors like Richard Turbet and John Wagstaff. The winter issue also included articles from our Irish colleagues Emma Costello and Harry White. As the last issue of 2002 demonstrated, Ireland has untold musical riches which we are all eager to learn more about. A final word of thanks, too, to another newcomer. Marian Hogg is our new and highly experienced Reviews Editor who deserves our gratitude not least for taking on the role only days after giving birth to her first baby! IAML(UK & Irl) Library: John WagstaffI like to think, fondly but almost certainly erroneously, that many people reading these annual reports look forward with bated breath to news of the branch library's annual statistics. It would therefore be unfair any longer to deny them this pleasure, and I am pleased to report that both loans and number of users were up over 2002, with 64 items lent to 19 users in 2003 as compared with 41 items lent to 13 users last year. As usual, several requests for information were also satisfied without the need for a loan. This increase in usage is an encouraging trend that one hopes will continue, especially as many of this year's loans were made to younger members of the branch, often student members or those in their first professional post. The library was affected in a small way by the change of branch name: we now have a new stamp, and have been pleased to lend some items to our new Irish colleagues. Those who have not yet discovered the branch library, which is unique within IAML, are encouraged not to hold back, but immediately to log onto its catalogue, which is at the "resources" section of the branch's home page. [Temporarily unavailable on this website.] As usual the library has several interesting new acquisitions to report, some of which were on display at the Annual Study Weekend in Leicester. This aspect of the library's activities seems to be appreciated, and we hope to display material at future IAML(UK & Irl) events as well. This year's acquisitions included Cliff Dane, Andy Feist and Kate Manton's A Sound Performance: the Economic Value of Music to the United Kingdom (1992), Geoff Thomason's A Little Birthday Fanfare for IAML (UK & Irl), premièred and deuxièmed at the branch's fiftieth anniversary celebrations on 1 July 2003; Rupert Ridgewell's E. T. Bryant Prize–winning scoping study on concert programmes, Historical Aspects of Cataloging and Classification, edited by Martin D. Joachim, plus material from RidIM and newsletters from many other IAML branches, including this year a series of back numbers of the Swedish branch journal, Musikbiblioteksnytt. Lionel McColvin's Music in Public Libraries (London: Grafton, 1924) was perhaps the year's most notable historical acquisition, being — I think — the earliest book on its topic in any language. As always, branch members are invited to request items for loan, or to visit the library in person. All are welcome! Music Libraries and Disability: Ruth HellenAs promised in last year's report, the IAML(UK & Irl) website now has a section giving links to useful sites and sources of information dealing with music provision for people with disabilities. Feedback so far has been positive, but we do need to make sure the information is kept up to date, so any contributions, amendments and suggestions for extra links will be very welcome. Huge thanks are due to Chris Banks for turning the original document into user–friendly web pages. To access the information, go to the Resources section of the website [or follow the Accessibility quick link]. Outreach: Roger FirmanFor this year's report on Outreach activities, I would like to focus on The Zimbabwe Academy of Music and Dance where two significant donations have been sent during the last 18 months. The Zimbabwe Academy of Music and Dance, based in Harare, exists to provide high quality education and training that combines traditional culture with modern teaching methods. It addresses the issue of equal opportunities between men and women and inequality between rural and urban students. New places for teacher training in music and dance will help to alleviate the current situation in which there are insufficient teachers trained in these subjects. Courses range from a performance certificate for beginners to a BA degree in music and are targeted at those who wish to become teachers in primary and secondary schools as well as those who aspire to a performing career. The traditional arts in Zimbabwe are becoming lost as families become urbanised. The Academy involves traditional practitioners from rural areas alongside professionally qualified tutors, to promote traditional skills in playing both African and Western musical instruments. Students can study mbira, nyunganyunga, nhare (all types of hand piano), marimba, chipendani (mouth bow), ngoma (drums), and Western instruments. The Academy wants to provide an extensive music library that will function as a resource centre of benefit not only for students and teachers at the Academy, but also for researchers from Zimbabwe and visiting students from other African countries. The development of the Library is seen as a key factor in the success of the organisation. Press and Public Relations: Peter BaxterBetween Jay Glasby stepping down as Press and PR Officer in April and Chris Pressler taking up the post in October, I dealt with the work of the Press and PR Officer together with Susi Woodhouse. The year was much busier than usual because, in addition to awarding the C.B. Oldman and E.T. Bryant prizes, Liz Hart became an Honorary Member of the Branch and 2003 also saw the launch of Cecilia; the Branch's Golden Jubilee Celebrations; and the publication of Access to Music, Music Librarianship in the United Kingdom and Concert Programmes in the UK & Ireland. Press Releases for these were circulated using an updated press contacts list and reports appeared widely in the librarianship and music press. Following discussion at the April 2003 Executive Committee meeting, it was agreed that press releases would be included in the Newsletter and posted on the IAML(UK & Irl) email list and website. It was hoped this would help keep everyone better informed about the activities of the Branch. Various articles, reviews and letters about music librarianship and IAML(UK & Irl) appeared in the music and library press. Perhaps the most significant of these were the article by Pam Thompson about music librarianship and Access to Music in the October 2003 edition of Update and the review of Music Librarianship in the United Kingdom by Lewis Foreman in the December 2003 edition of Update. However, the letters in Private Eye about Liverpool City Libraries and the article in The Scotsman about the closure of the Reid Music Library also deserve a mention. The members of the Courses and Education Committee continued to make a very significant contribution to raising awareness about music librarianship and IAML(UK & Irl) by distributing the Branch's General Information Leaflet at their courses and library school presentations. A considerable amount of thought and hard work by Chris Banks and Ruth Hellen led to designs for a new logo and letterhead being tabled at the January 2003 Finance and Administration Committee meeting and April 2003 Executive Committee meeting. After some further work, the designs were finalised in time for them to be used on the Golden Jubilee Invitations and members will have become aware of them being used on a wide range of documents, including this Report. Thanks are due to Jay Glasby for all her hard work over the past five years; Susi Woodhouse for editing my press releases and writing others; and Roy Stanley for his help in ensuring that IAML(UK & Irl) activities were reported widely in Ireland. The Press and PR Officer's files were passed on to Chris Pressler in October and it only remains for me to wish him success in his new role as Press and PR Officer. Publications: Margaret Roll2003 was a memorable year for IAML(UK & Irl) and for its publications. On the day of the 50th birthday celebrations in July two publications were launched. The first one was written by Pam Thompson and Malcolm Lewis entitled Access to Music: music libraries and archives in the United Kingdom and Ireland: current themes and a realistic vision for the future. This publication superseded the Library and Information Plan for Music: written statement which was published in 1993. To date 92 copies of this august publication have been bought, not only by people and libraries in this country, but also by libraries in Poland, Netherlands and Belgium. The title of the second work to be published is Concert Programmes in the UK and Ireland: a preliminary report and it started life in 2002 as a project under the auspices of the Music Libraries Trust. It grew so much that its author, Rupert Ridgewell, was persuaded to publish it with the help of the MLT and IAML(UK & Irl). 81 copies of this book have been sold, with one copy going to a library in the Netherlands. Two editions each of Brio and the Newsletter were published during 2003. IAML(UK & Irl) had over 110 overseas subscriptions to Brio with an additional 18 copies donated to libraries in Albania, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, India, Macedonia, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Spain and Tanzania. Twelve complimentary copies of the Newsletter are also sent out. The Newsletter is otherwise only available to IAML(UK & Irl) members. These complimentary copies are, for the most part, a reciprocal arrangement with IAML branches in Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, The Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, New Zealand and Australia. September 2001 saw the publication of First stop for music: the basic quick reference guide to music enquiries. Since that date over 100 copies have been sold, with a copy being sent to a library in Sweden. Encore!: Ruth HellenEncore! continued to be a major resource for music librarians. Progress slowed down somewhat during the summer as Malcolm Jones underwent heart surgery, but happily this was successful and he is now back in the swing of things. Evidence of this came towards the end of the year when Malcolm announced that he would now be working on a live database, that the look of the catalogue would be improved, and that he was starting work on analytical entries for some anthologies. The main task for the group now is to make sure that Encore! is sustainable in the future; dependence on short–term project funding is not an option for something on which people rely so heavily. Cecilia: Katharine HoggThe Cecilia project to create an online searchable database of Music Collections in libraries, archives and museums throughout the UK and Ireland, funded by the British Library Cooperation and Partnership Programme (BLCPP) and managed by the IAML(UK & Irl), commenced in 2001, with a further grant in 2002 to extend coverage of the database and fund arrangements to establish a sustainable service. The database now includes descriptions of ca. 1800 collections from ca. 600 institutions. Very broad guidelines for contributors accommodate the diversity of organisations which could potentially contribute to Cecilia, and the collections are therefore varied in scope and depth; some are highly specific (for example the papers of a single composer) while others cover a whole music repository, such as a public music library. This was anticipated and fulfils Cecilia's aim to provide a national guide to collections of music as well as a research guide to specialist collections. It also allows those with limited time to revisit the database in the future and expand their descriptions as they have the time and resources to do so. Bearing in mind this diversity, analysis of the data shows that the university, conservatoire and national libraries account for 23% of institutions represented, the public libraries 20%, libraries of institutions and other bodies 13%, museums and National Trust properties 30%, local authority and other archives 11%, ecclesiastical and other libraries 3%. A major concern was the ongoing sustainability of Cecilia. A second phase of the project will integrate descriptions of music collections into Cornucopia, the UK Collections Database, funded by Resource. Both Cornucopia and Cecilia use the RSLP standard structure for collections–level descriptions, and are therefore broadly interoperable. Cecilia will be the first of several subject–specific datasets to be integrated into the Cornucopia service. The benefits of this arrangement for Cecilia are that Resource is committed to long term support of Cornucopia, which includes hosting and maintaining Cecilia; Cecilia data will be independently searchable, or cross–searchable alongside the rest of the information within Cornucopia; ongoing development work with Cornucopia will be cascaded to the Cecilia service, and the new Cornucopia system enables distributed editing 'out of the box'. This means that organisations represented within Cecilia will be able to update and maintain their own records via an online interface. IAML(UK & Irl) members will be aware that the project has been promoted at a range of events across the various domains represented in the database, and in several published articles, details of which can be found via the Cecilia website developed by Chris Banks. A copy of the dataset has been placed on the AHDS Performing Arts website, where Cecilia descriptions are currently searchable. The Cecilia project has successfully created a database of music collections offering an overview of the national music resource, a tool which enables all types of user to identify, locate and assess materials across the UK and Ireland, and which information workers can use for collections management activities. It has ensured sustainability through its integration into the Cornucopia database while remaining searchable as an independent resource. Preservation issues have been addressed through data deposit arrangements with AHDS Performing Arts. It has also tested and demonstrated the suitability of the RSLP CD Schema for cross–domain, subject based projects. The work of the project has identified a large body of materials which are not yet included on Cecilia, due either to restrictions of time and resources, or because the relevant institutions are not fully aware of their holdings. In time many of these will be discovered and Cecilia needs to maintain a high profile to ensure that music collections are recorded on its database, and to ensure that amendments are made as required by those already contributing. A recommendation of this project is that Cecilia should continued to be extended and developed as the tool of first resort in locating collections of music significance, and that it might be integrated into a single gateway for music resources providing access to other music–based projects and resources, ensuring a "one stop shop" for music. I would like to thank the Project Steering Group and IAML Executive Committee for their support, and particular thanks to all colleagues who have contributed to the database. Paul Andrews, the first project manager of Cecilia, Susi Woodhouse, Project Director, and Chris Banks gave generously of their time, enthusiasm and support. IAML(UK & Irl) Website: Julie CrawleyThe newly designed IAML(UK & Irl) website went live, and was officially announced on the iaml-uk-irl email list, on 22nd July 2003. The website development team of Chris Banks, Antony Gordon and Julie Crawley had planned and discussed the basic design over the last year, but all credit for the creation of the site should go to Chris, Website developer extraordinaire. Chris Banks, found time alongside all of her other responsibilities, to bring the IAML(UK & Irl) website into the 21st Century, using Dreamweaver and Xara Webstyle. The new–look site, which we see today is located at www.iaml-uk-irl.org, the ten–year domain name having been purchased last year. To help you to navigate around the new site you can click on the Site Map on the homepage. Additions to the website include personal and institutional membership forms downloadable in pdf format, a News page and further information on courses offered, provided by the Courses and Education Committee, under Training. Thanks must go also to Roger Firman and Ruth Hellen for their superb set of web pages on Music Library Services for People with Disabilities, to be located under Resources. The pages are compiled to help library staff answer enquiries from people with a range of disabilities and include answers to FAQs and further links to other relevant websites. Viewing statistics for the homepage peaked in November 2003 with 2,674 page views. In 2002 the highest was 1,279 page views in September and so the statistics for 2003 show a significant rise. Towards the end of 2003 web counters were placed on all sections of the website and so further statistics can be provided next year. People from between 30 and 35 different countries access the website each month. While, unsurprisingly, approximately 80% of the viewings are from Great Britain, regular use of the site is made from Ireland, the USA, Australia, France and the Netherlands. Internet Explorer remains the most common browser, used on average, by 95% of viewers and a typical month only shows 1.99% of people accessing the site via a Macintosh operating system. Work is proceeding to provide further information to members of IAML(UK & Irl) in electronic format. For those seeking to enter the music library profession, the booklet Working in a music library is now available via the website, minus the illustrations, in pdf format. The full printed copy can still be obtained from the General Secretary, click on Publications. The website development team are exploring several other ideas to develop the site further, but suggestions are always welcomed from members. IAML(UK & Irl) Email list: Julie CrawleyMembership of the list continues to rise. In December 2002 we had 201 members while by December 2003 we had 210 subscribers. Six people are subscribed both at home and at work. The main difference from previous years is that membership from the USA has risen from 28 to 35 members. Over the last year messages have been averaging 47 per month, with the busiest month being January and the quietest month June. The email list continues to be an important means of sharing information, locating elusive music, and efficiently and effectively exploiting the range of expertise within our professional community. The list provides an informal inter–library loan function and a means to redistribute unwanted stock to libraries where it will be better used. Courses and job vacancies are publicized on the list, and local knowledge and experience can be shared more widely to assist others build up their knowledge of useful suppliers and second–hand music dealers, with or without pointing to a web presence. The archives for the last five years continue to be held by jiscmail and by going to the iaml-uk-irl list from the jiscmail home page, the archives can be searched and members can subscribe or unsubscribe themselves at any time. Another effective way of using the list is as a means to use all those useful in–house song indexes. Over the last year locations have been identified for a variety of songs ranging from 'The kiss in your eyes' to a Chinese laundry song! Julie Crawley and Antony Gordon continue as email list owners. Prizes: Susi WoodhouseThe C. B. Oldman Prize is awarded annually by IAML(UK & Irl) for an outstanding work of music librarianship, bibliography or reference. In 2003, the prize was awarded jointly to Andrew Ashbee, Robert Thompson and Jonathan Wainwright for The Viola da Gamba Society index of manuscripts containing consort music. (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2001). The authors were present at the AGM and Andrew Ashbee accepted the prize on behalf of his co–authors. The 2002 E. T. Bryant Memorial Prize, sponsored jointly by IAML(UK & Irl) and the Music Libraries Trust was awarded to Rupert Ridgewell for his report Concert programmes in the UK and Ireland: a preliminary report. (London: MLT and IAML UK & Irl, 2003), commissioned by the Music Libraries Trust. The Music Libraries Trust: Rosemary FirmanThe Trust's principal objective is to provide support for the education and training of music librarians. It also encourages and supports research into music librarianship, music bibliography and related disciplines. Since 1982, the Trust has worked in conjunction with the International Association of Music Libraries (IAML UK) Branch (from 2002 UK & Ireland Branch) to provide a focus for the inception of new ideas and for the skills of music librarians to be re–evaluated in the context of new technologies and changing bibliographical techniques. During the year Jane Harvell resigned as Bursaries Administrator and became a trustee. Claire Kidwell (Jerwood Library of the Performing Arts, Trinity College of Music) took over as Bursaries Administrator. Five bursaries were awarded to enable individuals to attend the IAML(UK & Irl) Annual Study Weekend 2003, held at the University of Leicester, 11th–14th April 2003. The recipients and sponsors were:
The 2002 E.T. Bryant Prize (£200), awarded jointly by the Music Libraries Trust and IAML(UK & Irl), was awarded to Dr. Rupert Ridgewell for his report Concert Programmes in the UK and Ireland: A Preliminary Report. The main activity in the Trust has been connected with concert programmes project. Rupert Ridgewell's report Concert Programmes in the UK and Ireland was considered worthy of publication as a book and a revised and expanded version was published in time for the IAML(UK & Irl) 50th anniversary celebrations at the British Library on 1st July 2003. The Trust financed the publication and further payment to Rupert Ridgewell for its preparation. It is hoped, however, to recoup 50% of this outlay from sales. The steering committee, consisting of John Tyrrell, Lewis Foreman, Chris Banks (British Library), Christina Bashford (Oxford Brookes University), Paul Banks (Royal College of Music) and now Rupert Ridgewell, met several times to discuss ways of taking the recommendations of the report forward and in the end decided on a scheme that would build on the Collections Level Description structure of Cecilia. Help and advice was sought from Nick Poole of Resource and a bid for funding was submitted in November 2003 to the AHRB Resource Enhancement Scheme. If successful, the bid (headed by the chair of MLT, Professor John Tyrrell of the University of Wales, Cardiff and with Dr Paul Banks of the Royal College of Music as co–applicant) will fund a three–year project of data collection, resulting in a web–based resource which will enable enquirers to locate collections of programmes in libraries, archives, museums, organisations and private collections in the UK and Ireland. An award of £1,000 was agreed to the Open Learning Unit at the University of Wales Aberystwyth for the revision of its distance–learning course in music librarianship module. IAML(UK & Irl) EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE 2003–2004Officers
Elected Committee Members
IAML Past President
Representatives
Non–Voting Officers
The Executive Committee met on four occasions in 2003: 22 January, 23 April, 23 July and 22 October. COMMITTEESConference Committee Courses and Education Committee Documentation Committee Finance and Administration Committee Library Committee Trade and Copyright Committee PROJECT GROUPSAccess to Music Resources C.B. Oldman Prize Cecilia E.T. Bryant Memorial Prize Encore! Festschrift (to July) Golden Clef Award (from July) MARC Harmonisation Music Libraries and Disability Outreach Project Group Website Development
AFFILIATIONS TO OTHER ORGANISATIONS
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In liaison with CILIP
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Page last updated: 14 February 2005 00:05
© Chris Banks, Julie Crawley & IAML(UK & Irl) 1995–2005 |
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