This was my first IAML Congress, which initially was not only exciting, but also terrifying. I needn’t have been nervous however because, from the first-time-attendees session at the start and throughout the week, everyone was extremely kind and welcoming. The real benefit of a conference like this is the chance to connect with colleagues from all over the world. You hear not only about their work but also about their lives. It is such an enriching experience on so many levels!

Magnetic tape replay equipment is fading out. Today’s knowledge of the linguistic and cultural diversity of humanity is widely based on magnetic tape recordings produced over the past 60 years. Magnetic audio and video tape formats are now obsolete. Spare parts supply and service is fading, replay equipment in operable condition is disappearing rapidly, and routine transfer of magnetic tape documents is estimated to end around 2025. The only way to preserve these sounds and images in the long term, and to keep them accessible for future generations, is their digitisation and transfer to safe digital repositories.

The International Association of Music Libraries, Archives and Documentation Centres (IAML) is pleased to announce the call for papers and posters for the IAML Congress to be held at the Municipal Library of Prague and the National Library of the Czech Republic, Prague, 19-24 July 2020.

The 2019 conference of IAML Germany is taking place this week in Augsburg. Around 150 partipants from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland are gathering at the campus of the Universität Augsburg. The conference includes presentations about Augsburg‘s rich musical history and current topics in music librarianship, with reports from IAML Germany’s sections on education, public libraries, music schools, AV materials, and radio and orchestra libraries. Library visits, workshops, concerts, and a tour through an exhibit called “Mozart’s Fashion Worlds” round off the program.

The International Music Council (IMC) will celebrate its 70th anniversary this year and will mark the occasion during the 6th World Forum of Music, which will take place from 27 September to 1 October 2019 in Paris. At the center of the Forum is the IMC's 5 Music Rights statement that "advocates access to music for all."  The IMC will feature an exhibition called "70 Projects for 70 Years" that highlights efforts made by IMC members to implement the 5 Music Rights.