Music Librarians on the Road: Music Librarians on the Road: Demonstrating Basic Music Demonstrating Basic Music Skills to Public LibrariansSkills to Public Librarians

Presented byPresented by

Erin L. MayhoodErin L. MayhoodHead, Music Library, Head, Music Library, University of VirginiaUniversity of Virginia

andand

Darwin F. ScottDarwin F. ScottCreative Arts LibrarianCreative Arts Librarian

Brandeis UniversityBrandeis University

Music Library AssociationMusic Library AssociationSociety for American MusicSociety for American Music

Joint ConferenceJoint ConferencePittsburgh, PAPittsburgh, PAMarch 3, 2007March 3, 2007

The Beginning… NEMLA has a strong history of outreach.

Library school career forums reached new librarians but not those already on the front lines.

1998 assessment on the state of music collections in Connecticut

Many generalists in public libraries working as music librarians in all but name for their communities.

The Public Libraries Roundtable and the Education and Outreach Committees perceived a strong need and desire by generalists in public libraries for reliable information on all aspects of music.

Boston Public Library Front Lines

Massachusetts Library of Last Recourse mandate:

“to provide access for all residents of the Commonwealth to the resources of a public research library.”

In practice:

many music questions from public libraries throughout Massachusetts and New England

many questions could have been answered by generalists with a little guidance

NEMLA Connecticut Survey Results

Barriers to acquiring/maintaining music collections:

budget constraints 44%

inadequate space/shelving 28%

lack of expertise about music 17%

lack of music cataloging expertise 11%

lack of patron interest 8%

lack of staff interest 3%

1998 Survey Results continued…

Who selects music materials in your library?

library director 48%

staff member with specialization 24%

general staff 16%

other 6%

volunteer 3%

1998 Survey Results continued…

Interest in resources (such as training, work-shops, etc.) to assist public librarians in the following areas of music:

collection development / acquisitions 63%

cataloging and processing 41%

circulation and shelving 28%

music reference 28%

other areas 2%

Reference Difficulties Encountered

Music-specific terminology (song, score, sheet music, parts, etc.)

OPAC searching

Formats (scores, vocal scores, fakebooks, librettos, CDs, videos, etc.)

Uniform title vs. title on page

Lack of content notes

Music subject headings (e.g., plurals for genres)

Absence of viable reference sources at the library

NEMLA Public Libraries Outreach Team Large academic library supporting a broad range of music

programs, including performance:

Boston University, Erin Mayhood

Focus: Reliable Web resources, terminology, reference interview, handouts

Smaller academic library supporting graduate music research, plus varied undergraduate study (often interdisciplinary):

Brandeis University (Waltham, MA): Darwin Scott

Focus: Collection development, understanding catalog records for music materials

Large public library with broad music collections:

Providence Public Library: Margaret Chevian

Focus: leading discussion at end of presentations; experience of a practicing public librarian; audience sees “one of us” is on the panel, not just academic librarians.

Goals

Be present at conferences frequented by public librarians.

Provide practical information that engages the audience.

NEMLA is an information resource that librarians can all draw upon.

Music librarians are wonderful and make great colleagues.

Strategy Relate music reference to the skills of general

reference and draw upon common expertise.

Point out the different approaches required for music reference.

Develop specialized music terminology.

Provide pathways to high-quality FREE online resources.

Explain how to craft the best searches based on the information in MARC records for music materials.

Impart some of the shop secrets of expert music collection development.

Mount the slides on the NEMLA Web site for future consultation after the sessions.

Presentation Content and VenuesName That Tune: Music Services and the Public Library

“Music Reference: Songs” (Erin)

“A Few Basic Survival Skills for Finding Music Web Sites, Acquiring CDs and Scores, and Coping with the Complexities of Music Materials” (Darwin)

Comments on Reference and Selection at the Providence Public Library (Margaret)

New England Library Association, Manchester, NH, September 24, 2004

Connecticut Library Association, New Haven, CT, April 13, 2005

Rhode Island Library Association, Salve Regina University, Newport, RI, June 2, 2005

Get Your Library Movin’ to the World Music Beat!

“World Music in the Public Library: Collection Development Tips!” (Erin)

“What World Music Is—And How to Locate It in Library Catalogs and Other Electronic Resources” (Darwin)

Comments on World Music at the Providence Public Library (Margaret)

New England Library Association, Worcester, MA, October 16, 2005

Rhode Island Library Association, Bryant College, Smithfield, RI, June 1, 2006

Evaluation and AssessmentAttendance

Varied between 25 and 40 depending on the number and subject matter of conflicting sessions

Last session in RI had 16 due to popular Google session scheduled at the same time

Audience reactions

Nobody got up and left during the presentations

Engaged audience throughout

Extremely interactive in question and answer sessions

Rumpus sessions after presentations to talk further

Great interest in NEMLA and much thanks given

Offers to return next year

Evaluation and AssessmentFeedback

“Very informative, well organized”

“Really enjoyed all three speakers”

“Lots of great info and different points of view”

Ratings by four attendees: one “4” and three “5's (scale: 1=poor, 5=excellent)

Evaluations from the 2005 RILA meeting

“Thanks so much for the excellent presentation you gave at the Conference last Thursday. . . . Your talk was well organized, lively, and you provided us with very useful handouts. We learned so much about the wealth of information that is available to us.”

-Pam Mead, RILA Conference Committee (June 2006)

“I thought the program was very interesting and the smaller crowd allowed a little more interaction—so glad you are willing to join us next year. Please consider yourselves on the program!”

-Ariela McCaffrey RILA Conference Committee (June 2006)

The Future

Financial cutbacks have negatively impacted the hiring of subject specialists in public libraries—a national crisis that will continue to have drastic effects on collections, staffing, and programs.

Launch of MLA National Outreach program to non-music specialists

Fasten Your Seatbelts for a Whirlwind Tour through Our Presentations

The New England Chapter of the Music Library Association

Music Reference: Songs

Presented byErin L. Mayhood

Assistant Head, Music Library, Boston UniversityApril 13th, 2005

Sponsored by the New England Music Library Association (NEMLA)

The Music Reference The Music Reference InterviewInterview

Focusing the inquiry in music includes:Focusing the inquiry in music includes: FormatFormat

ScoreScore RecordingRecording

Does the patron need the words Does the patron need the words (lyrics) only?(lyrics) only?

Are they looking for background Are they looking for background information?information?

Questions to Ask:Questions to Ask:

What is the title of the song?What is the title of the song? Who wrote the song?Who wrote the song? Do you know the first line or any of Do you know the first line or any of

the lyrics?the lyrics? What decade is the song from?What decade is the song from? Who recorded the song?Who recorded the song? What style of music is it?What style of music is it? Where did you hear this song?Where did you hear this song?

Building Terminology: Building Terminology: Focus on FormatsFocus on Formats

RecordingsRecordings Compact DiscsCompact Discs CassettesCassettes LP’sLP’s

ScoresScores Full scoresFull scores Piano vocal scoresPiano vocal scores Fake booksFake books

Example of a piano-vocal score:

Example of a Full Score:

Example of a fake book:

Finding Songs: Why Are Finding Songs: Why Are They So Hard?They So Hard?

Lack of contents notes in catalog Lack of contents notes in catalog recordsrecords

Songs may be part of a larger work Songs may be part of a larger work like an opera or a musicallike an opera or a musical

LanguagesLanguages

A Sample Catalog Record Lacking Content Notes

Example of a record with contents notes. These notes are keyword searchable.

Finding Song Scores – Finding Song Scores – Essential Print ResourcesEssential Print Resources

Verification SourcesVerification Sources Use to verify title, composer, date Use to verify title, composer, date

informationinformation Especially useful if you have only partial Especially useful if you have only partial

informationinformation Song IndexesSong Indexes

Use to determine the titles of collections Use to determine the titles of collections or anthologies that include your song. or anthologies that include your song.

General or genre specificGeneral or genre specific

Sheet Music Resources on the Sheet Music Resources on the InternetInternet

Aid in verificationAid in verification Searchable lyricsSearchable lyrics Digitized copies of songs may be Digitized copies of songs may be

printableprintable Many institutions compile lists of Many institutions compile lists of

recommended sitesrecommended sites

Charles H. Templeton Sheet Charles H. Templeton Sheet Music CollectionMusic Collection

http://library.msstate.edu/ragtime/main.htmlhttp://library.msstate.edu/ragtime/main.html

Contains images of over 22,000 pieces Contains images of over 22,000 pieces of sheet music from late nineteenth of sheet music from late nineteenth and early twentieth century Americaand early twentieth century America

Covers many genres, from the ragtime Covers many genres, from the ragtime of Scott Joplin, the Dixieland of W. C. of Scott Joplin, the Dixieland of W. C. Handy, the smooth ballads of Irving Handy, the smooth ballads of Irving Berlin, the stirring patriotic anthems Berlin, the stirring patriotic anthems of John Phillips Sousa and George M. of John Phillips Sousa and George M. Cohan to the early roots of big band. Cohan to the early roots of big band.

Charles H. Templeton Sheet Music Charles H. Templeton Sheet Music Collection – Digital Images of Collection – Digital Images of

Sheet MusicSheet Music

Finding Music Lyrics on the Finding Music Lyrics on the InternetInternet

Many lyric sites on the internetMany lyric sites on the internet Beware of sites with extensive pop Beware of sites with extensive pop

upsups Sites often specialize in a particular Sites often specialize in a particular

genregenre Many libraries maintain lists of Many libraries maintain lists of

selected sites. selected sites.

www.Leoslyrics.comwww.Leoslyrics.com

What album contains What album contains that song?that song?

A Few Basic Survival Skills for Finding Music Web Sites, Acquiring CDs and Scores,

and Coping with the Complexities of Music Materials

Presented byDarwin F. Scott

Creative Arts Librarian, Brandeis Universityfor the Rhode Island Library Association (RILA)

June 2, 2005

Sponsored by the New England Music Library Association (NEMLA)

Brandeis University Libraries QuickStart Guide: Music — Music on the Web

Duke University Libraries: DW3 Classical Music Resources — Homepage

Duke University Libraries: DW3 Classical Music Resources — Classical Music — Composer Homepages

Duke University Libraries: DW3 Classical Music Resources — Browse Resources — Classical Music — Composer Homepages — Early

Twentieth Century

Duke University Libraries: DW3 Classical Music Resources — Browse Resources — Classical Music — Composer Homepages — Early 20th Century —

Olivier Messiaen

Music Library Service Company (MLSC): Online Store Home Page

Music Library Service Company: Rolling Stone Top 500 Albums

Music Library Service Company (MLSC): 47th Annual Grammy Award Winnners

Music Library Service Company: A Basic Music Library — Musicals and Shows

CD HotList: New Releases for Libraries — Homepage

CD HotList: New Releases for Libraries — Country/Folk, Sept. 2004

Amazon.com: Search for CD of Wicked

Reminder: Search for CDs under MUSIC

Amazon.com: Search for Vocal Score of La Cage aux Folles

Amazon.com: Search for Scores of Gilbert and Sullivan Published by Dover(searched as author: gilbert sullivan; title: score; publisher: dover)

Music Library Association Mailing List: Archive Search MLA-L

Music Library Association Mailing List: Archives of MLA-L

Music Library Association Mailing List: Archive Search Results — on “security (CD or CDs or DVD or DVDs)”

Music Library Association (MLA): Copyright for Music Librarians

Music Library Association (MLA): Copyright for Music Librarians: Frequently Asked Questions

The New England Chapter of the Music Library Association

World Music in the Public Library:

Collection Development Tips

Presented byErin L. Mayhood

Assistant Head, Music Library, Boston UniversityJune 1st, 2006

Sponsored by the New England Music Library Association (NEMLA)

Reasons to include world music Reasons to include world music in your collectionin your collection

Cultural diversityCultural diversity Formal education supportFormal education support Community activity supportCommunity activity support Independent learningIndependent learning

Tools for Collection DevelopmentTools for Collection Development

WebsitesWebsites ReviewsReviews Vendor catalogsVendor catalogs

Recommended WebsitesRecommended Websites

University of WashingtonUniversity of Washingtonhttp://www.lib.washington.edu/music/world.htmlhttp://www.lib.washington.edu/music/world.html

Indiana UniversityIndiana Universityhttp://www.music.indiana.edu/music_resources/ethnic.htmlhttp://www.music.indiana.edu/music_resources/ethnic.html

Music Selection Resources on the Music Selection Resources on the WWW by Anna Seaberg WWW by Anna Seaberg http://http://www.halcyon.com/aseabergwww.halcyon.com/aseaberg//

Record Label List Annotated by Record Label List Annotated by Anna Seaberg:Anna Seaberg:

http://www.halcyon.com/aseaberg/worldbib.html

Recording ReviewsRecording Reviews

PeriodicalsPeriodicals• BillboardBillboard• Dirty LinenDirty Linen• EthnomusicologyEthnomusicology• Roots & Rhythm Roots & Rhythm

Newsletter Newsletter (online (online at: at: www.rootsandrhythm.cowww.rootsandrhythm.com/roots/rr_latest.htmm/roots/rr_latest.htm))

• World of MusicWorld of Music

Vendor WebsitesVendor Websites• All Music All Music

www.allmusic.comwww.allmusic.com• Multicultural MediaMulticultural Media

www.worldmusicstore.comwww.worldmusicstore.com

VendorsVendors

Vendor websites can be useful Vendor websites can be useful collection development toolscollection development tools

Look for sites that present items Look for sites that present items geographicallygeographically

Favorite Vendors for World Favorite Vendors for World MusicMusic

Multicultural Media: Multicultural Media: www.worldmusicstore.comwww.worldmusicstore.com

All Music Guide:All Music Guide:

www.allmusic.comwww.allmusic.com Music Library Service Company (MLSC):Music Library Service Company (MLSC):

www.mlscmusic.comwww.mlscmusic.com Berkshire Record Outlet:Berkshire Record Outlet:

www.berkshirerecordoutlet.comwww.berkshirerecordoutlet.com

MULTICULTURAL MEDIA's MULTICULTURAL MEDIA's

www.worldmusicstore.comwww.worldmusicstore.com

What World Music Is—and How to Locate It in Library Catalogs

and Other Electronic Resources

Presented byDarwin F. Scott

Creative Arts Librarian, Brandeis Universityfor the Rhode Island Library Association (RLA)

June 1, 2006

Sponsored by the New England Music Library Association (NEMLA)

Ethnomusicology — World Music:What’s the Difference?

Ethnomusicology

• “The study of social and cultural aspects of music and dance in local and global contexts.” (Grove Music Online)

• Largely a scholarly discipline studied primarily at universities.

• Focus tends to be on field work—and indigenous, “traditional” music.

• Specialists are trained in music or in anthropology, sometimes in both, but the multidisciplinary nature of the subject produces differing interpretations.

• Alan P. Merriam (1923–1980), Indiana University: Defined ethno-musicology as the anthropological study of music and stressed “the importance of cultural and social factors in any investigation of the processes of creation, aesthetics, and the training and acculturation of performers and audience.”

• Mantle Hood (1918–2005), UCLA: the first scholar to offer training in the performance of non-Western music (Javanese and Balinese gamelan), a practice now common at most large Western universities. He emphasized performance participation or “bi-musicality” as an essential aspect of research.

Ethnomusicology — World Music:What’s the Difference?

World Music – 1

• Recent years have seen the phenomenal growth of the “World Music Industry.”

• A very defuse category, but there are certain traits that predominate.

• Lacks the academic connotations or discipline of ethnomusicology.

• Often popular music or Third World music—frequently the music of the lower working classes and powerless members of industrialized societies, sometimes resulting from rural–urban migrations.

• The sound of globalization and transnationalism—an international marketplace.

• A blending of traditional styles with Western pop features—this dualism challenges the integrity of native cultures and the survival of national genres due to the overwhelming influence of popular music recordings from the U.S. and Europe.

• In some countries, indigenous traditional musics have grown marginal and irrelevant to the popular youth culture; in others with stronger native traditions in place, much more blending occurs.

• Clash of nativism (an established national canon of music supported by academe and/or the state) vs. creolism, creative hybridity, fusion, and pastiche.

Ethnomusicology — World Music:What’s the Difference?

World Music – 2

• Transplanted Western idioms become transformed by local tradition.

• International styles—rock music, hip-hop, disco, sentimental ballads, easy listening.

• Music of diasporas and transnationalism.

• Themes include political statements, protest songs, pacifism, transnational sentiments, religion/devotion, dancing to “world beats,” conscious ethnic focus.

• Delivered by commercial mass communications media (sound recordings, radio, films, television, the Web) and concert/performance venues (the stage, night clubs, etc.)

• Uses amplification and electric instruments, and modified traditional or western instruments.

• Rise of concert artists and world music stars—not music performed within ritual, narrative, or other cultural contexts.

• World beat: “World music that is commercially marketed to Western consumers with eclectic tastes” (Grove Music Online).

World Music as a Subject Term (in the Minuteman Library Network — Boston Metrowest)

351 records in Minuteman Library Network using World Music as a subject heading; a growing number also appear with subdivisions. But not applied consistently to world music recordings—depends upon decisions of catalogers entering or editing records in OCLC.

World beat (Music) starting to appear as an LCSH.

Worth Noting (as of May 31, 2006):• World Music as sound-recording subject heading is in 2,941 WorldCat records.• Folk Music as sound-recording subject heading is in 37,316 WorldCat records. • Popular Music as sound recording subject heading is in 245,944 WorldCat records.

Sample World Music Record with Folk Music as Subject Heading

Specific country (here Mali) used as geographic delimiter. A search on Africa would miss this recording.

Popular music, Folk music, and World music all used as descriptors.

Sample World Music Record — Thorough Subject Analysis

Extremely thorough subject analysis covers world, folk, and popular music.

Includes all performers and ensembles as authors.

Sample Catalog Record — 2005 Cataloging, Excellent Descriptors — One Type of Music (Music of Cape Verde)

World music as subject heading

Contents notes are searchable in most OPACs as keywords.A caveat: spellings match contents given on the CD notes

(i.e., no authority control).

Popular music as subject heading

Geographic area as subheading (plus time period!)Note: no subject reference to Africa.

Performer as author

Sample Catalog Record — 2005 Cataloging, Excellent Descriptors — Various Types of Music

Performers and groups as authors

Genres / styles of music as subject headings

Broad geographical descriptors

World music / Popular music subject headings

Contents note

Sample World Music Record (No Subject Entry for Popular Music)

Popular music and Folk music not used as subject descriptors—only World music

Sample World Music Record — Folk Music and World Music as Descriptors (not Popular Music)

Folk music and World music used as subject descriptors—but not Popular music.

Very broad geographic descriptor

Main performer (vocal soloist) and group as authors

Amazon.com: Opening Window for Music (i.e., CD) Search

Use International for most world music.

Amazon.com: International Style = World Music

Amazon.com: Browse Africa Selections

Amazon.com: Mali Selections

283 recordings retrieved

Amazon.com: “International Mali” Keyword Search under Popular Music

Only 12 recordings retrieved!Better to use the progressive access

for the most items: 1. Popular music2. International

3. Africa4. Mali

(283 recordings)Or a keyword search directly on the

specific country (274 hits on Mali).

Contact Information

NEMLA: http://www.wesleyan.edu/nemla/

Erin L. Mayhood mayhood@virginia.edu

Darwin F. Scott dscott@brandeis.edu

Margaret ChevianMChevian@provlib.org

The Final Slide of All the Presentations