Teaching collection development in contextAuthor(s): Susan T. SommerSource: Fontes Artis Musicae, Vol. 35, No. 3 (Juli-September 1988), pp. 195-197Published by: International Association of Music Libraries, Archives, and Documentation Centres(IAML)Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/23507466 .

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195

Teaching collection development in context* Susan T. Sommer (New York)*

Die Ausführungen stützen sich auf Erfahrungen, wie sie in musikbibliothekarischen Seminaren seit 1970 an

der Bibliotheksschule der Columbia University in New York gewonnen werden. Das dem Seminar zugrunde

liegende Curriculum beinhaltet keine Unterweisung in bibliographischen Nachschlagewerken. Der Kursus

gliedert sich vielmehr in einen kurzen Überbück über die Geschichte der Musikdrucke, die Struktur der mo

dernen Musikverlagswesens, das Copyright, die Geschichte der Schallplatte, die Verwaltung von Musikbiblio

theken, die Auskunft, die Katalogisierung, einzelne bibüographische Aspekte sowie den musikbibliothekari

schen Beruf.

Im Mittelpunkt des Kurses steht jedoch die Entwicklung einer Modellbibüothek. Kleingruppen haben selb

ständig Richtünien zu entwickeln, wie ihrer Meinung nach der Bestand einer Modellbibüothek aus dem Be

reich wissenschaftüche Bibliothek, öffentliche Bibüothek und Konservatoriumsbibüothek aussehen sollte.

Die Kleingruppen stellen der gesamten Klasse ihre Modeübibüothek vor, nach der Maßgabe, in welcher Re

gion die Bibüothek ihren Standort hat und für welche sozialen Nutzergruppen der Musikbestand aufzubauen

ist.

Den Studenten wird ein fiktiver Betrag von ca. $ 150.00 zur Verfügung gestellt, mit dem sie aus Katalogen einen Bestand aufbauen können; der Kauf-Entscheid ist anschließend analog den einzelnen Musikbibüo

thekstypen zu begründen. Als eine weitere Übung für den Bestandaufbau wird die Anfertigung einer Rezension eines neu veröffent

üchten Buches oder eines Musikstückes betrachtet. Durch Eigenformuüerung wird die Bedeutung einer Ver

öffentlichung klarer erkannt, als wenn für den Bestandsaufbau nur schon existierende Rezensionen herange

zogen werden.

Obwohl hinter dem Musikbibliothekswesen ein praktischer Beruf steht, sind beim Ausbildungsziel Be

standsaufbau theoretische Konzepte zu entwickeln, die je nach Zielsetzung und Funktion der Bibüothek für

eine praktische Durchführung vom modernen Bibliothekar heranzuziehen sind.

This paper looks at the problem of teaching collection development in a broader setting with

specific reference to some of the techniques developed in a course in music Ubrarianship at Colum

bia University's School of Library Service in New York. Since a description of the methodology

involves an understanding of its relation to the course as a whole, a little background seems in or

der. The course, which I have taught in one form or another since 1970, presently meets two full

evenings a week for six weeks in the third semester of the year, in May and June, at a time when

the University library hours are limited. This schedule, and the fact that many students work full

time during the days, means the course must be taught as a seminar, and it must rely on self

contained discussions to get the points across as opposed to individual library assignments. The course does not include reference bibliography. (This is covered in a different course; Lit

erature of the Performing Arts.) It does, however, consider such topics (besides collection devel

opment) as; a brief overview of the history of music printing and engraving, the structure of the

modern music publishing industry, copyright, the history of recording, administration of music li

braries, services and outreach, cataloging, shared bibhographic facilities, and music librarianship as a profession. Many of these components touch on collection development, particularly those

which describe the processes of present-day music publication and distribution and how it differs

from the book trade.

But from the standpoint of collection development, the most significant part of the course is a

unit called "model libraries." This section forms the heart of the course. Early in the term the stu

Paper given at a meeting of the Commission on Service and Training in Amsterdam, June 1987. ** Susan 1. Sommer is Coordinator ot tne in y klu s uenerai Liorary 01 tne rerrorming /\ns ai Lincoln i^enier ana /\ssociaie

Professor of Library Science at Columbia University.

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196 S. T. Sommer: Teaching collection development in context

dents are divided into small teams of three or four people and asked each to develop a profile of

a particular model library. They are given specific guidelines but are encouraged to bring their own

imagination and experience to bear on the subject. The assignments always include examples of

the three major types of American music libraries: academic, public, and conservatory. The guide lines set the imaginary institution in context, for example: "a public library in a city of about a mil

lion people (that's about the size of Baltimore, Detroit, or San Diego), which supports a sym

phony, local classical radio stations, and a small opera and ballet company, but which also has a

large minority population the library wishes to reach. In addition local community college stu

dents and private music students rely on the library for materials beyond basic texts and pieces to

be learned. Selection is done by the music librarian, but orders go out from a central processing unit..." and so forth.

Within this framework, the student team creates - dreams up - a model music library, which

they then present to the class. This will include a specific description of staffing and budget for the

library, a floor plan and equipment, cataloging policies and so forth. And, of course, a model col

lection development policy based on the imaginary realities of the situation. That is to say that the

student team faced with the assignment of the public library just described would have to consider

just what kind of books, scores, recordings and so forth would best serve the particular public -

the sophisticated listeners, the minority group (the team can define just which minority is being served — for example if they choose to locate their library in the southwest United States, the mi

nority will most likely be Hispanic), and the students. And they will have to consider what per

centage of the budget should go toward which kinds of material and for which parts of the user

audience. In the course of the following class discussion, the students' original plans are invevit

ably modified, but the model libraries also take on a life of their own, becoming surprisingly real

in the minds of the class, and providing a practical local context for later assignments.

One of these, which covers specific problems of selection, is a catalogue reading assignment. A

variety of publishers and dealers catalogues — which I have accumulated over the year

— are dis

tributed to the students. Each student receives and reads a different group of catalogues. The class

is given ten minutes to spend a certain amount (say around $ 150.00) on materials from the cat

alogues for the model library the student has helped design. Then each one tells the rest of the

class what titles he or she chose and why. The exercise has proved very successful in many

ways, but primarily it forces students to focus on contextual reality. For example, given a choice at

such "extra" buying, the representative of an academic library might choose to acquire some com

paratively arcane dissertations on a special topic while a conservatory one might select a new and

expensive piece for violin solo and some back-up "bread and butter" editions of Beethoven sona

tas to support an expanding string program in the hypothetical school library. The point is that —

besides introducing the students to the art of reading catalogues fast — the exercise sensitizes them

to the variety of choice and the factors to be considered in making acquisition decisions.

These are not the only ways in which collection development — or as it used to be called, selec

tion and acquisition - are considered in the music librarianship course. We look at ML A Notes as

a potential selection tool. We look at the book, music, and recordings lists, the list of publishers'

catalogues, the reviews, and the advertisements. Reading and writing reviews is another class ex

ercise linked to collection development. Students are asked to read and comment on reviews in a

variety of publications. Each one then writes a 500 word review of a current book or score. This is

the major written assignment in the course, and some of the reviews have been so well done that

we actually published them in Notes.

The class discusses the mechanics of placing an order (for example, after citing composer and

title, be sure to specify whether you want a score, parts, a recording ...), the function of dealers and jobbers, and how to design a blanket order. The students look at catalogues and approval plans. In some years (when the class seemed to warrant it), I have asked a practising music jobber to address the group directly and lead a (usually lively) discussion on the topic of acquisition poli cies.

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A. Rohde/G. Huckwitz: Ten Years of the Phonoklub, Berlin (GDR) 197

Music librarianship seems to me to be an eminently practical business. Nevertheless, in

teaching one seeks to impart theoretical concepts which will then be applicable to immediate sit

uations. By teaching collection development as part of an overall pattern shaped by the purpose and function of the library I hope that these theoretical principles will emerge from the contextual

reality. Thus, when a graduate of Columbia's library school is later in a professional situation which

requires the application of a knowledge of collection development to a specific situation, I hope he or she will be able to draw on the Columbia library school training for both a conceptual under

standing of the problem and for specific solutions in context like those discussed in class, and that

this in turn will suggest practical ways for the new librarian to proceed.

Ten Years of the Phonoklub, Berlin (GDR) Achim Rohde and Gabriele Huckwitz (Berlin)*

Wenn der Phonoklub der Berliner Stadtbibliothek am 20. März 1988 sein zehnjähriges Bestehen feiert, können die Initiatoren dieses für das Bibliothekswesen der DDR bisher einmaügen Unternehmens mit gro ßer Genugtuung auf die zurückhegende Zeit blicken. Den anfänglichen Vortragsabenden mit Tonträgern wur

den im Laufe der Jahre zunehmend Live-Auftritte mit unterschiedlichem Kolorit hinzugefügt. Anläßlich sei

nes fünfjährigen Bestehens startete der Klub 1983 mit seinem Schallplatten-Tauschmarkt eine für Berlin völlig neue Veranstaltungsreihe. Die Gelegenheit wurde mit großer Begeisterung wahrgenommen und die Zahl der

Teilnehmer stieg ständig an, erreichte bis zu 400 Tauschpartner. Dank der guten Auswahlprinzipien der Klub

leitung ist es möglich, das mit 10 Veranstaltungen vorgesehene Jahresprogramm des Klubs kontinuierüch zu

erweitern - es mangelt nie an Referenten. Noch steht der Phonoklub allein auf breiter Flur - es wäre gut, wenn sich Partnerschaften mit Gleichgesinnten entwickeln könnten.

The initiators of the Berliner Stadtbibliothek's Phonoklub can certainly be satisfied with the ac

complishments made during the past ten years of the club's existence — the first of its kind in the

German Democratic Republic. Back in 1978 the club founders realized the risk they were to take

in trying to establish an organisation which hoped to contribute a high standard of cultural work

oriented especially for young people. There had been several previous attempts, but each was

doomed to fail because a stable form of management was lacking. The new club, comprised of

phonorecord and music enthusiasts, was determined to avoid the mistakes of the past. At the

founding meeting on March 20th, which was well attended by members of the younger generation

as well as the press, a club council and club leaders were elected - the work could begin. A club

chronicle was also started and is still kept up to the present day. The first successes dealt with events concerning the history of sound recording, electronic music

and many portraits of pop and rock singers, e. g. Bob Dylan, Pink Floyd, Abba, the Beatles and

Elvis Presley. A semi-annual publication was begun: Phono-Info, a continuing series, which con

tains the newest additions to the record collection of the library's music department. Club mem

bership increased from year to year. A rule stating that only club members could speak at a meet

ing was withdrawn because of the reluctance of the ca. 100 members to become actively involved.

Instead a new concept of club work was developed, in which lecturers from all walks of life were

sought to participate. Since the club leadership was anchored in the music library, the contact with

* Achim Rohde is Director of the Phonothek at the Berliner Stadtbibliothek; Gabriele Huckwitz is Director of the Phono

thek.

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