Italian music libraries and open access digital music archives. Issues and challenges
Keywords:
Italian music libraries, Italian Conservatories, Music digital libraries, OPAC SBN, Internet CulturaleAbstract
Music libraries are faced with two different but related issues: on the one hand, the creation of repositories of digitised music collections (a means desired and supported by everyone, even by those who do not have or do not want to get used to electronic devices, such as musicians who prefer and use exclusively or almost exclusively paper) and, on the other hand, the use of exclusively electronic devices as a means of studying and performing music.
As far as Italian Conservatory libraries are concerned, the use of commercial digital library services is spreading. In addition, there is currently a lack of digitisation projects for early, rare, or notable music collections: with the exception of the digital collections of a few Conservatories, such as those of Naples and Milan, Brescia, Florence and some others, there are no particular innovations in the digitisation of historical music Conservatory libraries.
In addition to digital libraries, some problems remain when searching for music using criteria designed for the verbal text: despite some interesting recent proposals, the search for notated music with specific criteria, different from those of the verbal text, remains a challenge.
References
Akau, Stephanie, McKinney, Janet and McNellis, Rachel (2023). Preferred Preservation Formats for Digital Music Scores: A Survey of University Music Faculty. Notes, 79, no. 4: 495-523.
Bergland, Kristi (2024). Beyond the mechanics: Exploring ethical considerations of E-Scores in music libraries. IAML Stellenbosch 2024, 23 June – 28 June 2024 Programme with abstract available at https://www.iaml.info/sites/default/files/pdf/programme_with_abstracts_0.pdf
Berndt, Elizabeth and Malmon, Sandi-Jo (2023). Surveying Composers Part II: Perspectives on Composer and Library Engagement for the Future. Fontes Artis Musicae, 70, no. 1: 1-15.
Bongiovanni, Carmela (2018). Introduzione alla bibliografia musicale. Istituzioni, risorse, documenti. Milano: Ledizioni. ISBN 978-88-6705-839-6.
Brady, Sophie A. (2019). Review: International Music Score Library Project [IMSLP]. Journal of the American Musicological Society, 72, no. 3: 920–935.
Cerullo, Luigi (2022). L’Ecosistema digitale dei servizi bibliografici nazionali: una panoramica. Digitalia, 17, no. 1: 31-38.
De Natale, Mariateresa (2023). Istituzioni culturali e riuso del patrimonio culturale digitale: buone pratiche a livello internazionale. Digitalia, 18, no. 2: 155-161.
Di Domenico, Giovanni ed. (2020). Le biblioteche dell’Alta Formazione Musicale. Prove di monitoraggio e valutazione, with Anna Bilotta and Maria Senatore Polisetti. Milano: Ledizioni. ISBN 9788855262941.
Di Domenico, Giovanni (2020). Per le biblioteche dei conservatori e degli istituti superiori di studi musicali: un progetto di valutazione e un volume. In Di Domenico Giovanni ed. Le biblioteche dell’Alta Formazione Musicale. Prove di monitoraggio e valutazione, with Anna Bilotta and Maria Senatore Polisetti (pp. 7-16). Milano: Ledizioni
Dougan Johnson, Kirstin (2020). The changing face of academic music media collections in response to the rise of online music delivery. Notes, 77, no. 2: 191-223.
Goodchild, Meghan (2017). Digital Music Libraries: Librarian Perspectives and the Challenges Ahead. CAML Review / Revue de ACBM, 45, no. 2-3: 32-57.
Grillo, Manuela (2023). Tutela e gestione del diritto d’autore in open access. AIB Studi, 63, no. 2: 337-353, at 346. https://aibstudi.aib.it/article/view/13900/12108
Grossi, Michela and Schiavone, Roberta (2024). Beyond the score: l’indicizzazione della musica notata per la performance. AIB studi. 63, 3: 619–640. https://doi.org/10.2426/aibstudi-13983.
Holden, Chris – Knop, Keith – Newcomer, Nara (2019). Music Discovery: Past, Present, and Future. Notes, 75, no. 4: 591-619.
Howard, Alan (2010). Review: Christ Church Library Music Catalogue. Music and Letters, 91, no. 1: 91-94.
Incelli, Egidio and Mataloni, Maria Cristina (2022). OPAC SBN: innovare i servizi nel solco di una solida tradizione. Digitalia, 17, no. 1: 58-65.
Jones, Michael, Rich, Robert, Schaub, Jacob, Smith-Borne, Holling (2024). Using Alma Digital to Provide Access to Digital Scores: One Music Library’s Experience. Fontes Artis Musicae, 71, no. 3: 195-207.
Kempf, Klaus (2013). La politica di digitalizzazione della Bayerische Staatsbibliothek. Digitalia, 8, no. 1: 14-28.
Lisena, Pasquale, Achichi, Manel, Choffé, Pierre, Cecconi, Cécile, Todorov, Konstantin Jacquemin, Bernard and Troncy, Raphaël (2018). Improving (Re-)Usability of musical datasets: an overview of the DOREMUS Project. Forschung und Praxis, 42, no. 2: 194–205.
Malvano, Andrea (2020). The Digital Project of the Rai Archive: Catalogue, Chronology and Study of the Italian Broadcasting Orchestra. Music Reference Services Quarterly, 23, no. 1: 1-14.
Mullin, Casey A. (2010). Review: International Music Score Library Project/Petrucci Music Library. Notes, 67, no. 2: 376-381.
Paakkonen, Tuula – Kervinen, Jukka - Kettunen, Kimmo (2018). Digitisation and Digital Library Presentation System – Sheet Music to the Mix. Proceedings of the 1st International Workshop on Reading Music Systems, ed. Jorge Calvo-Zaragoza, Jan Hajič jr., Alexander Pacha, Paris: 21-22 https://arxiv.org/abs/2301.10062.
Penner, Katherine (2024). iPad and Digital Sheet Music Delivery: Supporting Student Development and Encouraging Digital Score Use Through Library-Circulated Hardware. Fontes Artis Musicae, 71, no. 3: 179-189, at 179.
Scott, Rachel E., Harrington, Caitlin, Dubnjakovic, Ana (2021). Exploring Open Access Practices, Attitudes, and Policies in Academic Libraries. Libraries and the Academy, 21, no. 2: 365-388.
Stokes, Laura, Perricci, Anna (2015). Contemporary Composers WEB Archive (CCWA): Progress in collaboratively collecting composers' websites. IAML/IMS Reports, New York 2015 - The music research in the digital age, programme of the Congress with abstracts: www.iaml.info/congresses/2015-iamlims-new-york.
Suber, Peter (2012). Open access. Cambridge Mass.: The MIT Press: 100 and passim.
Szeto, Kimmy (2018). The Roles of Academic Libraries in Shaping Music Publishing in the Digital Age”. Library Trends, 67, no. 2: 303-318.
Taglietti, Sara (2022). RISM Resources: What Exists and Where it is Kept: The State of the Art in Italy among OPACs, Card and Printed Catalogues, and New Discoveries. International Conference Celebrating 70 Years of RISM, Mainz, Akademie der Wissenschaften und der Literatur, 7–9 October 2022. https://www.adwmainz.de/veranstaltungen/mediathek/medien/ansicht/rism-resources-what-exists-and-where-it-is-kept-the-state-of-the-art-in-italy-among-opacs-card-and-printed-catalogues-and-new-discoveries.html
Tallman, Erin (2022). Tradition, Pedagogy, and Internet Open-Access Music Libraries, Access date 09.03.2025 available at https://scholarship.claremont.edu/
Tangari, Nicola (2006). Come cambiano le fonti musicali. Le risorse digitali e la ricerca musicologica. Fonti musicali italiane, 11: 289-308.
Testa, Matthew (2016). Availability and Discoverability of Open-Access Journals in Music. Music Reference Services Quarterly, 19, no.1: 1-17.
Ward, Jennifer (2023). Encoding music, decoding music history: RISM, RILM and the beginnings of Plaine & Easie Code. Congress of International Association of Music Libraries, Archives and Documentation Centres (IAML), Cambridge, UK, 30 July - 4 August 2023, Programme with abstracts https://www.iaml.info/sites/default/files/pdf/iaml_cambridge_preliminary_programme_2023_07_20_abstracts.pdf
Zanni, Andrea (2019). Il progetto di digitalizzazione della Biblioteca Estense Universitaria di Modena. Biblioteche oggi, 37: 63-67 available at file:///C:/Users/Utente/Downloads/959-1705-1-PB.pdf.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Qualitative and Quantitative Methods in Libraries
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
