Music librarianship

Music librarianship is the area of librarianship that pertains to music collections and their development, cataloging, preservation and maintenance, as well as reference issues connected with musical works and music literature. Music librarians usually have degrees in both music and librarianship (typically, a Master of Library and Information Science and at least a college-level music degree). Music librarians deal with standard librarianship duties such as cataloging and reference, but the addition of music scores and recordings to collections complicates these tasks. Therefore, music librarians generally read music and have at least a basic understanding of both music theory and music history to aid in their duties.

Most early written classical music was predominantly sacred; collections of written music and literature were held by monasteries, cathedrals, and other religious establishments, such as church music societies, offices, and seminaries. As universities emerged in the 12th century, libraries formed throughout Europe, and obtained donations or gifts from monasteries and private collectors. The advent of national and centralized libraries two centuries later allowed for greater attention to special materials like music collections. Up to the end of the 15th century, music collections had been limited to religious organizations, private collectors, or small areas of university libraries. Public collections grew with the development of printing at the end of the 15th century and the surge of scholarly and artistic endeavors of the Renaissance.

Music librarianship since the Renaissance has grown alongside modern librarianship, but with more unique, dedicated facilities for materials. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the establishment of conservatories created a need for music collections that supported learning at those institutions. While the proliferation of classification schemes has given music a niche in modern public and academic collections, other institutions maintaining music-only collections have contributed to the rise of music libraries. These include conservatories, music information centers, composers' and performing rights associations, opera houses, music publishers, and media facilities involved with broadcasting and film.

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