DRAFT COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT
POLICY IN MUSIC
The Cogswell
Music Library collects music and music related materials
to meet the needs of the IUP Music Department, the
university at large, and the community.
These materials include music monuments and
collected editions, reference books, circulating books,
circulating scores, and sound recordings.
In building our collection, we follow the general
policies of the IUP Libraries.
Monuments and
Collected Editions:
These are the most reliable
and authoritative scores for the study of significant
works. They
are essential for first-rate reference service in
music. Through
the efforts of previous music librarians, the Cogswell
Music Library has one of the best collections of such
works in the state.
The maintenance of this high quality collection
should be a top priority.
In order to insure that we acquire each volume of
a set, these works have been purchased through long-term
standing order agreements.
Reference Books:
The Cogswell Music Library has a
substantial collection of reference books on music,
which are indispensable for the reference and research
needs of music library patrons.
While there is some duplication of standard works
with the general Reference Department, the vast majority
titles are found only in the music library. We will continue to collect the most important reference
works in music.
Circulating Books:
The Cogswell Music Library
contains the bulk of the Libraries collection in the ML
and MT classes. These
works are broad and representative, with particular
strengths in the areas of composer’s biographies (ML
410), music history, theory and education.
This collection serves the curricular and
research needs of music library’s diverse patrons. We will continue to build a broad and representative
collection, particularly in the areas of our strengths
and in the teaching and research interests of university
community.
Circulating scores:
The entire M class of the
Libraries is housed in the Cogswell Music Library.
Students, faculty and the community use these
scores for musical performances, study and research.
Over the past ten years, music library staff has
bound and repaired this collection, and cataloged it for
our on-line catalog, together with a vast backlog of
unprocessed scores. Our
goal is to build a representative collection, making
available those works considered essential to the
musical repertory of our culture.
As we continue to catalog this collection,
various gaps have become apparent.
We have been able to purchase scores on approval
through commercial Web sites and filled these gaps
quickly. We
have a particularly strong collection of piano-vocal
scores of operas and musical theater and will continue
to build in that area.
Sound recordings:
The Cogswell Music Library has a
substantial collection of 12” vinyl LP sound
recordings, primarily of Western art music. This collection is still heavily used for the listening needs
of library patrons.
However, we no longer collect LP sound
recordings. Neither
do we collect cassette or reel-to-reel tape recordings.
We only collect commercial recordings in compact
disc (CD) format. The
CD collection currently contains over 2000 items and is
growing at a rate of approximately 300 items per year.
Just as with the score collection, we will strive
to build a representative collection, containing the
essential works of music supporting the listening needs
of music library patrons.
Special collections and gifts:
The Cogswell Music Library
maintains a small collection of specialized, rare or
valuable materials.
No special funds are available for acquiring new
materials in this area, but some items have come to the
music library by way of gifts.
These include the uncataloged Albert R. Casavant
research collection of marching band and drill team
materials, and the Edward R. Sims collection of ethnic
musical instruments, with instruments representing every
continent.
Recent gifts that have been added
to our circulating collections include the Milton
Blazakis collection of horn and brass music, the Robert
Bloom collection of oboe music, the Roger Stone
collection of violin music, the Ruth Neal collection of
vocal music, and the Charles Davis collection of jazz,
musical theatre and band music, purchased from an
endowment left by Davis to the IUP Foundation.
In recent years the Cogswell Music
Library has received numerous gifts from retiring
faculty and elderly community members. We particularly appreciate gifts of musical scores in good
condition, which have generally been added to the
collection. Scores
in worn-out or brittle condition, that can’t withstand
binding, cannot be added.
Most of the books on music were either
duplicates, or old textbooks of little value.
Occasionally we’ve found a rare “golden
nugget” which has been added to the collection.
We can no longer accept gifts of LPs or 78 rpm
sound recordings due to limitations of space and floor
load. We
will accept gifts of other music materials, but the
giver should be aware that only those items valuable to
the collection will be retained.
Collecting Interests and Requests:
We are committed to collecting
materials supporting the strengths and research
interests of the university community. Specialized areas have included women composers, with the
bi-annual IUP Women’s Composers Festival, contemporary
American music, wind ensemble music, opera and musical
theatre. We
also support all general areas of interest, such as
performance and study scores, musicology,
ethnomusicology, music theory and music education.
The Music Librarian has made every
effort to acquire materials that have been requested by
faculty, students and other patrons of the music
library. If
acquisition funds are not available at the time of a
request, it is placed in a file of desiderata,
and is purchased when funds become available.
Rarely a request is made for something
inappropriate to the collection, which the Music
Librarian addresses personally.
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