Day in the Life of a Music Librarian

Well .. half a day, really.  So, what do you imagine music librarians get up to?  

E-RESOURCES: ACCESS
This afternoon saw a quick question about our students accessing online resources from outside the Conservatoire - and a quick answer.  RCS staff and students need to go to our Library web-pages, click on the appropriate e-resources link, and then pick their chosen e-resource (or e-book, or e-journal).  Use Shibboleth institutional access from there - pick the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, then your usual RCS login.  We don't use Athens - so avoid anything mentioning it.

REFERENCING
Then came two two individual consultations about Karen's favourite things.  First, a fairly in-depth discussion about saving citations, then using the Harvard referencing style, and creating a bibliography.  The Whittaker Library has guidelines about Harvard referencing on our part of the RCS Portal.  (Find them here.  If you need more, just Google "Harvard Referencing", and you'll find plenty of other guides!)

If you're referencing a lot of non-standard formats, the best advice is to find an example for something approximately close to your reference, then tweak the example to fit your purposes, making sure the author's name and date of the source are listed first.  If you're referencing something online, then you'll need to give a hyperlink, and also the date you accessed the item.  All this is in our guide.

E-RESOURCES: RESEARCH

The next query was back to e-resources again, but this time about content rather than access.  We talked about finding info about specific musical works.  Naxos sleeve notes are useful.  JSTOR can be useful, too. Oxford Music Online is better for facts about the works' composition dates, opus numbers, where they stand in the composers' output, etc, but may not necessarily give you anything in-depth about individual works.  

So, having delved briefly into online resources, we also looked at CD and vinyl sleeve notes - plenty more info in that direction!  And good old Cobbett's Cyclopedic Survey of Chamber Music.  It may be old, but could be a good starting place.

MusiCB3 Blog Commemorates Great Fire of London and mentions Scotland?! Read on!

The bloggers at the Music Library in the University of Cambridge remind us that 350 years ago today, the Great Fire of London caused untold devastation.  And yes, we all learned to sing "London's Burning" as a round at school.  The song has a link closer to home than you'd imagine, though.  Read the blogpost to find out more:-

St Paul's in morning sunshine

To celebrate, to commemorate: The Great Fire of London

Incidentally, did you see what has been done to St Paul's as part of the commemoration?  (Don't worry, it's done by lighting, not real flames!)  Read about it in The Guardian, Wednesday 31st August 2016:-    

 Artists' flames mark 350th anniversary of Great Fire of London

Image from The Guardian - see link above

   

Music Graduate? Great Chance to Work in a Music Library!

We have been asked to share details of this great opportunity at the Britten Pears Foundation:-

Graduate Trainee: Collections

£21,848 for 12 months full-time, fixed term contract

The Britten–Pears Foundation, based in Aldeburgh, Suffolk, holds a Designated collection comprising the archives of composer Benjamin Britten. We are looking for a Graduate Trainee to support the front line work of the current collections staff. The post will include overseeing our Reading Room and dealing with enquiries from researchers, as well as project work in preservation, digitisation and description of our collections and working with our volunteers. Enquiries about the post can be directed to Nicholas Clark n.clark@brittenpears.org

This fixed term post would ideally suit a graduate wishing to gain work experience before applying for a postgraduate qualification in either Archives and Records Management or Library and Information Management. Training from our qualified collections staff in the use of the archive management system, and in the many aspects of work in a specialist archive and research library will be provided. The successful applicant will be motivated and happy to work on their own initiative, confident in dealing with the public, have strong communication and time management skills and be committed to archives or librarianship as a career. An interest in twentieth-century music and/or art would also be an advantage.

To apply please:

• download, complete and save the application form and equal opportunities form available from the Foundation website www.brittenpears.org (using a current version of the free Adobe Reader; NB you will not be able to save your text if you open the form in your web browser - please use Adobe Reader);

• write a covering email;

• e-mail your application form with a completed Equal Opportunities form to Anna Hunter a.hunter@brittenpears.org no later than Friday 26 June 2015, including the words Graduate Trainee application in the e-mail title.

Interviews will be held on the 10 July 2015.

 

 

Nicholas Clark
Librarian
Britten–Pears Foundation

The Red House

Golf Lane

Aldeburgh

Suffolk, IP15 5PZ

 

Telephone 01728 451700
www.brittenpears.org

Meanwhile, Music is Live in Manchester Libraries ...

Are you from Manchester?  Got musical friends there?  Going back this weekend?  There's news of a week of live music in Manchester libraries, from Library Live:-
 
Read the article in the Independent, for a start:-
 

"Have a listen to some of the broadcasts this week - including the Vivaldi 'Manchester Sonatas'  being played live on Radio 3's In Tune this afternoon from the library.   Ros Edwards, Service Development Co-Ordinator for music,  may make an appearance on Guy Garvie's Radio 6 show next Sunday 16th  talking about some of the Henry Watson Music Library Treasures. 

"And if anyone is in the vicinity of Manchester Central Library this week its worth popping in - the whole place is humming - almost literally.  Lots happening all week, much of it musical.  Good advocacy for public libraries and music libraries ...
"Check out the events website too http://www.librarylive.co.uk/"

Part Time Music Library Job in London

Whittaker has heard about this opportunity, which might interest someone looking to make a career in music librarianship:-

"Part-time job opportunity in London

 

Community and Youth Music Library

 

Would you like to manage a library of printed music located in Crouch End, London N8?   We need a part-time (10 hours a week) administrator to manage, with assistance from volunteers, the Community & Youth Music Library, a national resource of orchestral and vocal printed classical music which is loaned to orchestras, wind bands and choirs throughout the UK.   The full catalogue is located at the library website (www.cymlibrary.org.uk)

 

Applicants should have experience of managing or working in a music library. 

 

Terms: 10 hours per week (ideally on Tuesdays and Fridays) for at least 46 weeks a year, self employed, £15 per hour.

 

For an application pack please email cymlibrary@gmail.com. giving your name and full address.

 

Final date for returned applications is September 6 2013

Interviews will be on Friday September 27 2013  

For more information about the Library go to www.cymlibrary.org.uk"