Libraries

I. Indiana University Libraries’ Mission Statement

The mission of the IU Libraries is to support and strengthen teaching, learning, and research by providing the collections, services, and environments that lead to intellectual discovery.

II. Introduction

a. Description of institution/department and clientele

Primary clientele are the faculty and the students of the IU Jacobs School of Music, from pre-college through the PhD level. In addition to curricular support, collections support individual faculty and graduate student research, and the artistic functions of performance and composition of music, whether for the instructional, learning, creative, or cultural use of its clientele. The number of full-time degree candidates stands at about 1600, of which approximately half are undergraduates. There are about 150 full-time faculty members. An Office of Pre-College and Special Programs brings in hundreds of workshop participants, especially in the summer, who use the Cook Music Library. The collections additionally serve as the principal music collection for all campuses of Indiana University, and as the State of Indiana's principal music resource collection.

b. Brief overview of the collection

i. History of the collection

•  1921: Collection of recordings, books, and scores established to circulate from the office of the dean of the School of Music (overseen by his secretary).
• 1928: Identified as a departmental library in the University's guide to the library.
• 1937: Music Library given separate quarters in new Music Building.
• 1939: Ethyl Louise Lyman appointed as first full-time music librarian.
• 1943: Collection ranked as 3rd in size of IU branch libraries after Law & Medicine (15,000 books, scores & periodicals, and 3,000 recordings) plus large collection of orchestral & choral performance parts.
• 1950: Orchestral & choral materials established as a separate division, administered by the Music Librarian.
• 1960: Lyman retired. Collections had grown to 35,000 books, 80 sets of periodicals, 12,000 recordings, more than 137,840 items of printed music, & 250 rolls of microfilm
• 1960s: Latin American Music Collection established as adjunct to the new Latin American Music Center.
• 1970: Black Music Center & Black Music Collection established with grant from NEH
• 1970s-1990s: Substantial growth in staff & collections under leadership of David Fenske.
• 1996: The present William & Gayle Cook Music Library opened in renovated quarters of the Simon Center.

ii. Collection strengths and weaknesses

The Music Library's primary collection of printed research materials includes more than 580,000 cataloged items. The strengths of the collection include: 19th-century first or early editions of orchestral, chamber, and opera sources; extensive holdings of printed operas; theory treatises from the Renaissance to the late nineteenth century; Russian/Soviet music; early keyboard and violin primary source materials (the Willi Apel collections); Black and Latin American music collections; as well as other special collections of print and audio materials (for more on special collections see https://libraries.indiana.edu/cook-music-library-special-collections ). In addition, the performing ensembles collection contains scores and parts for large ensembles, including virtually all the standard orchestral and choral repertoire in support of the Jacobs School of Music's several choruses and orchestras.

The audio collection contains cataloged sound recordings for use in class assignments, applied music study, and research. The collection is particularly strong in the area of opera, and features among its special collections the Jussi Björling Collection (the world's largest collection of recordings by the Swedish tenor, about 3,000 items), and the Ross Allen and Alvin Ehret collections of vocal recordings (37,000 recordings of operatic and vocal repertoire, including virtually all complete operas recorded between 1950 and 1975, many of them unique or rare in the United States). Grants from the Title II-C program for original cataloging of these collections have made bibliographic records for a significant proportion of these sound recordings available through OCLC. The Orchard Collection consists of tape duplicates of one of the largest privately-held opera collections in the United States.

There are no identified weaknesses in the collection, other than the areas named elsewhere in this document in which the library purposely does not actively collect.

iii. Subject areas emphasized or deemphasized

Music in the art-music tradition of Europe, the Americas, and Russia is emphasized. Popular music, jazz, and rock are collected more selectively and primarily in the formats of sound recordings and monographs. Some ethnomusicological materials are collected, but they are collected more actively by Folklore, which supports the Department of Ethnomusicology.

iv. Collection locations

All materials are housed in the William & Gayle Cook Music Library, except for music books purchased by other funds for the Folklore Collection (folk music and ethnomusicology) and the Lilly Library (rare editions and manuscripts.

III. Scope of Coverage

a. Languages collected and excluded

Music scores are collected for their intrinsic musical value, regardless of the language of the text. Other print materials (books, periodicals, etc.) are collected in English, Romance languages, Germanic languages, and Slavic languages. Music monographs in other non-Roman scripts purchased by area-studies and other librarians are shelved in the Music Library. Recordings are collected regardless of the language of any sung text, or of any accompanying printed matter.

b. Geographical areas covered and excluded

Music in the art-music tradition of Europe, the Americas and Russia is emphasized, regardless of place of publication. Primary places of publication are North and South America, Europe, Russia, and Japan.

c. Chronological periods covered and excluded

From the Ancient World to the present day (no exclusions).

d. Dates of publication of materials collected; current vs. retrospective coverage

No chronological limitations placed on print and manuscript materials; emphasis is on current publications, though retrospective purchases are made to fill identified gaps in the collection. Audio and video materials are acquired only in current recording formats.

e. Formats collected and excluded

Monographs, monographic series, periodicals, music scores (miniature, full, study) and performance parts (solo and chamber music), facsimiles, theses and dissertations, microforms (35mm film, fiche), online databases and indexes, audio & video recordings in currently-available formats. E-books are collected selectively and primarily for books that are commonly placed on reserve or circulate heavily. Music scores and parts are collected in various editions of a work; sound recordings are collected in various editions and performances of a work. Additional formats purchased with the Jacobs School of Music resources include scores and parts for large-ensemble performance. Formats excluded: obsolete audio formats.

IV. Collecting Responsibility

The Music Collection Development Librarian, with the advice of the Head of the Music Library.

V. Related Collections

a. The Lilly Library

Houses several significant music collections, including the Starr Sheet Music Collection (totaling some 130,000 items); first editions of scores by 20th-century French composers; the Fritz Busch Collection of orchestral scores annotated by the conductor; the manuscripts of composer Bernhard Heiden; a large collection of first and early editions of works by Handel; and early music treatises. The Lilly Library adds to these collections selectively, as market opportunities and the library's acquisition budget allow. Criteria for addition to the collection include quality, condition, and potential for research and exhibition use.

b. The Archives of Traditional Music

Includes additional jazz recordings, as well as recordings of ethnic music.

c. The Folklore Collection contains literature on folk and non-Western music

The Music Collection Development Librarian and the Folklore Librarian have agreed upon the following principles to minimize duplication of materials in the Music and Folklore collections (any duplication will ideally be limited to reference works and some essential core materials). The Music Library collects folk music core materials only. The languages covered are primarily English, with the exception of Latin American music materials. Folklore collects comprehensively in all languages, with an emphasis on research-level materials.

d. Education, and the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center Libraries

These libraries have some music-related titles. Titles purchased with funds for Comparative Literature, Film Studies, Theater, and Slavics or other area studies that are classified as M, ML, or MT are shelved in the Music Library.

VI. Principal Sources of Supply and Major Selection Tools

a. Monograph vendors

Approval plans for university press publications and US & UK trade and scholarly monographs from Yankee Book Peddler; additional titles (including approval plans and standing orders) are selected from Otto Harrassowitz, Casalini Libri, Amalivre, Theodore Front Musical Literature, Eastview, Garcia Cambeiro, Retta Libros, & Amazon.com for rush orders.

b. Printed music vendors

Theodore Front Musical Literature, Otto Harrassowitz, Casalini Libri, plus other online vendors.

c. Recordings vendors

Compact Disc Source, Theodore Front Musical Literature, Arkiv Music, plus Amazon.com and other online retailers for rush orders.

d. Current selection tools

New-publication announcements from Theodore Front Musical Literature, Otto Harrassowitz, Casalini, and Amalivre; publishers' catalogs; reviews and ads in music journals.

VII. Selection Criteria for ALF

A few runs of print periodicals have been sent to the ALF, but most music materials are housed in the Cook Music Library.

VIII. Other Resources and Libraries

See section V.

IX. Consortial Agreements

The music libraries of the BTAA cooperate to the extent possible in consortial licensing of electronic resources.

Revised April 2019