CAML Review / Revue de l'ACBM (Canadian Association of Music Libraries, Archives and Documentation Centres / Association canadienne des bibliothèques, archives et centres de documentation musicaux)

Higgs, Jennifer

Writing Gordon Lightfoot: The Man, the Music, and the World in 1972 (Book Review)

This paper reflects on copyright law as it relates to musical works by examining a work entitled Plexure by the Canadian composer John Oswald that is made up entirely of unlicensed samples from other works. While the recording industry views works like Oswald's to be infringing on copyright, this paper argues that these types of transformative works should be allowed under the fair use, or fair dealing, provisions of copyright law, and that to disallow them ultimately stifles creativity and the advancement of culture in general. The paper argues that there needs to be an expansion of the current fair use laws to include a broader interpretation of works of transformative appropriation like Oswald's Plexure

McKibbon, Richard

Winner of the CAML Student Paper Award 2012: The Plexure of Copyright Infringement

Guise, Janneka

  
CAML REVIEW / REVUE DE L’ACBM  40, NO. 3 (NOVEMBER / NOVEMBRE 2012)  PAGE 3 
Message from the President / Message de la présidente 
 
CAML held its Annual General Meeting 
in Montreal on July 26, and we now 
have some new faces on the Board. I 
am thrilled to announce that Cheryl 
Martin (Western University) was 
acclaimed as President-Elect. I am also 
delighted to introduce Carolyn Doi 
(University of Saskatchewan) who was 
acclaimed as our new Secretary. As 
well, the Board re-appointed Rob van 
der Bliek (York University) as Treasurer, 
and Kyla Jemison (Canadian Music 
Centre) as Membership Secretary. My 
sincere thanks to Kirsten Walsh, whose 
term as Past President has ended, and 
to Laura Snyder, whose term as 
Secretary has ended, for all their hard 
work on the CAML Board.    
 
With this issue of CAML Review, Cheryl 
Martin is stepping down as Associate 
Editor in order to assume her new role 
on the Board. I would like to thank 
Cheryl for her many years of service, in 
various capacities, related to CAML’s 
official publication. A hearty welcome 
to Megan Chellew (McGill University) 
and Deborah Wills (Wilfrid Laurier 
University), who have joined the CAML 
Review team as Associate Editors. 
 
Canada hosted the International 
Association of Music Libraries 
conference July 22-27 in Montreal, and 
it was a huge success! I received many 
compliments from delegates 
 L’ACBM a tenu son assemblée générale annuelle à 
Montréal, le 26 juillet, et de nouveaux visages 
font maintenant partie du conseil 
d’administration. Je suis enthousiaste de vous 
annoncer que Cheryl Martin (Université Western) 
a été élue par acclamation à titre de présidente 
désignée. Je suis aussi ravie de vous présenter 
Carolyn Doi (Université de la Saskatchewan), élue 
par acclamation à titre de   secrétaire. Le conseil a 
aussi reconduit le mandat de Rob van der Bliek 
(Université York) comme trésorier et de Kyla 
Jemison (Centre de musique canadienne) comme 
secrétaire aux adhésions. Mes sincères 
remerciements s’adressent à Kirsten Walsh, dont 
son mandat d’ancienne présidente s’est terminé, 
et à Laura Snyder, dont son mandat de secrétaire 
s’est terminé, pour leurs efforts inlassables au 
sein du conseil d’administration de l’ACBM. 
 
Avec la publication de ce numéro de la Revue de 
l’ACBM, Cheryl Martin se retire du poste 
d’éditrice adjointe afin d’assumer son nouveau 
rôle au sein du conseil. J’aimerais remercier 
Cheryl pour ses nombreuses années de service, à 
ses différentes fonctions, liées à la publication 
officielle de l’ACBM.  Nous accueillons 
chaleureusement Megan Chellew (Université 
McGill) et Deborah Wills (Université Wilfrid-
Laurier), qui ont joint les rangs d’éditrices 
adjointes de l’équipe de la Revue de l’ACBM. 
 
Le Canada a été l’hôte du congrès de l’Association 
internationale des bibliothèques, archives et 
centres de documentation musicaux (AIBM) du 22 
au 27 juillet, à Montréal, et a remporté un vif 
succès! Au cours de la semaine, j’ai reçu de 
   
  
CAML REVIEW / REVUE DE L’ACBM  40, NO. 3 (NOVEMBER / NOVEMBRE 2012)  PAGE 4 
throughout the week on the 
organization of the conference, the 
quality of the concerts and tours, and 
the welcoming and helpful attitude of 
all the volunteers. Congratulations to 
our local organizing committee—
Joseph Hafner (McGill University), 
Brian McMillan (McGill University) and 
Daniel Paradis (BAnQ)—who did a 
wonderful job planning and executing 
this fun and stimulating event.  
Congratulations also to Cathy Martin, 
who coordinated the volunteers 
throughout the week. Cathy and her 
team of volunteers greeted all our 
delegates with a smile every day and 
ensured everyone got where they 
needed to be on time. 
 
I look forward to attending the annual 
meeting of the Quebec Chapter of 
CAML on November 12 at the Grande 
Bibliothèque (Bibliothèque et Archives 
nationales du Québec) in Montreal. 
This event is always well attended and 
I welcome the opportunity to connect 
with Quebec colleagues. The program 
will highlight several local collections 
and services. 
 
Mark your calendars! From June 6-8, 
2013, CAML will meet with the 
Congress of the Humanities and Social 
Sciences in beautiful Victoria, British 
Columbia. Watch for a call for 
proposals, and information on local 
arrangements, on CANMUS-L and in 
the next issue of the CAML Review. 
nombreux compliments de la part de délégués 
quant à l’organisation du congrès, la qualité des 
concerts et des visites, l’accueil chaleureux et 
l’amabilité des bénévoles. Félicitations à notre 
comité organisateur local composé de Joseph 
Hafner (Université McGill), Brian McMillan 
(Université McGill) et Daniel Paradis (BAnQ), 
lesquels ont fait un travail remarquable de 
planification et de réalisation de cette activité 
agréable et stimulante. Des félicitations 
s’adressent également à Cathy Martin, laquelle a 
fait la coordination des bénévoles au cours de la 
semaine. À tous les jours, Cathy et son équipe de 
bénévoles ont accueilli les délégués avec un 
sourire et se sont assurés que tous se rendaient à 
l’endroit désigné à l’heure prévue. 
 
Je me réjouis de participer à l’assemblée annuelle 
de la section québécoise de l’ACBM, le 12 
novembre, à la Grande Bibliothèque (Bibliothèque 
et Archives nationales du Québec), à Montréal. 
Cette activité attire toujours beaucoup de monde 
et j’accueille favorablement la possibilité de 
réseauter avec les collègues du Québec. Le 
programme mettra en valeur plusieurs collections 
et services locaux. 
 
Veuillez noter dans vos agendas que l’ACBM se 
réunira avec le Congrès annuel des sciences 
humaines dans la belle ville de Victoria, en 
Colombie-Britannique, du 6 au 8 juin 2013. Soyez 
attentifs à l’appel à communications et à 
l’information sur la logistique locale, sur la liste de 
diffusion CANMUS-L et dans le prochain numéro 
de la Revue de l’ACBM. 
 
L’ACBM a une nouvelle adresse postale! En raison 
des nouveaux rôles à Bibliothèque et Archives 
  
CAML REVIEW / REVUE DE L’ACBM  40, NO. 3 (NOVEMBER / NOVEMBRE 2012)  PAGE 5 
CAML has a new mailing address! Due 
to changing roles at Library and 
Archives Canada, the Board decided to 
seek out a new host for our post. The 
University of Toronto Music Library 
graciously volunteered, and our new 
mailing address is as follows: 
 
Canadian Association of Music 
Libraries, Archives and Documentation 
Centres 
c/o Music Library 
University of Toronto 
Edward Johnson Building 
80 Queen's Park Crescent 
Toronto, ON, M5S 2C5 CANADA 
 
Janneka Guise 
Head, Eckhardt-Gramatté Music 
Library 
University of Manitoba 
Canada, le conseil a décidé de se chercher un 
nouvel hôte. La bibliothèque de musique de 
l’Université de Toronto s’est gentiment portée 
volontaire et notre nouvelle adresse postale est la 
suivante : 
 
Association canadienne des bibliothèques, 
archives et centres de documentation musicaux 
a/s Bibliothèque de musique 
Université de Toronto 
Édifice Edward-Johnson 
80, croissant Queen's Park 
Toronto (Ont.)  M5S 2C5 CANADA 
 
 
Janneka Guise 
Bibliothécaire en chef, Bibliothèque de musique 
Eckhardt-Gramatté 
Université du Manitoba 
 
Traduction : Pauline Prince, term. a. 
      
 


Message from the President / Message de la présidente

s.n., s.n.

 
CAML REVIEW 39, NO. 3 (NOVEMBER 2011)   PAGE 7 
CAML FIRST-TIME IAML ATTENDEE AWARD /  
PRIX DÉCERNÉ À UN MEMBRE DE L’ACBM PARTICIPANT POUR LA 
PREMIÈRE FOIS AU CONGRÈS DE L’AIBM 
 
 
The CAML First-Time IAML Attendee 
Award, sponsored by the Canadian 
Association of Music Libraries, 
Archives and Documentation Centres 
(CAML), is intended to support 
attendance (registration, travel, and 
hotel expenses) at the 2012 IAML 
Conference in Montreal 
(http://iaml.montreal2012.info/).  
 
The award of up to $1000 will be 
received by the winner upon 
submission of receipts following the 
conference. Applicants must be 
members of CAML who are also 
members of IAML (International 
Association of Music Libraries, 
Archives and Documentation 
Centres) and who will be attending a 
IAML conference for the first time. 
Priority will be given to applicants in 
the early stages of their professional 
career, recent graduates who are 
seeking a position as a music 
librarian, or graduate library school 
students aspiring to become music 
librarians. Following the conference, 
the recipient of the award will 
contribute a report for publication in 
the CAML Review. 
 
 
Call for applications 
 
Applications are now being accepted 
for the CAML First-Time IAML 
Attendee Award, which is sponsored 
by the Canadian Association of Music 
Libraries, Archives and 
Documentation Centres (CAML). The 
 Le Prix décerné à un membre de l’ACBM 
participant pour la première fois au congrès 
de l’AIBM, organisé par l’Association 
canadienne des bibliothèques, archives et 
centres de documentation musicaux 
(ACBM), a pour but d’encourager la 
présence (frais d’inscription, de voyage et 
d’hébergement) de délégués au congrès 
AIBM 2012 qui se tiendra à Montréal 
(http://aibm.montreal2012.info/).  
 
Ce prix pouvant aller jusqu’à 1000 $ sera 
remis au gagnant lorsque celui ci présentera 
ses reçus après la conférence. Le 
demandeur doit être membre de l’ACBM, 
ainsi que de l’AIBM (l’Association 
internationale des bibliothèques, archives et 
centres de documentation musicaux), et 
participer à un congrès de l’AIBM pour la 
première fois. On accordera la priorité aux 
personnes qui en sont à faire leurs premières 
armes dans la profession, aux personnes 
récemment diplômées qui se cherchent un 
emploi de bibliothécaire de musique ou aux 
étudiants à la maîtrise en bibliothéconomie 
désireux de devenir bibliothécaires de 
musique. Après la conférence, le gagnant 
devra présenter un rapport qui sera publié 
dans la Revue de l’ACBM. 
 
 
Appel de demandes 
 
On peut maintenant présenter sa demande 
pour recevoir le Prix décerné à un membre 
de l’ACBM participant pour la première 
fois au congrès de l’AIBM, qui est organisé 
par l’Association canadienne des 
bibliothèques, archives et centres de 
documentation musicaux (ACBM). Ce prix a 
 
CAML REVIEW 39, NO. 3 (NOVEMBER 2011)   PAGE 8 
award supports attendance 
(registration, travel, and hotel 
expenses) at the 2012 IAML 
Conference in Montreal, with priority 
given to those new to the field of 
music librarianship. The award of up 
to $1000 will be received by the 
winner upon submission of receipts 
following the conference. 
 
Applicants must be members of 
CAML who are also members of 
IAML (International Association of 
Music Libraries, Archives and 
Documentation Centres) and who will 
be attending a IAML conference for 
the first time. Priority will be given to 
applicants in the early stages of their 
professional career, recent graduates 
who are seeking a position as a 
music librarian, or graduate library 
school students aspiring to become 
music librarians. Following the 
conference, the recipient of the award 
will contribute a report for publication 
in the CAML Review. 
 
 
Applicants must submit the following 
in PDF format by February 1, 2012: 
 
1. A letter of application which 
includes your reasons for 
attending the IAML 2012 
Conference, an explanation of 
why you are a good candidate 
for this award, and a 
justification of financial need  
 
2. A budget for travel costs to 
attend the conference and 
information about any other 
grants, matching funds or 
institutional support you might 
also receive to cover 
conference attendance costs  
pour but d’encourager la présence (frais 
d’inscription, de voyage et d’hébergement) 
de délégués au congrès AIBM 2012, qui se 
tiendra à Montréal. On accordera la priorité 
aux nouveaux venus dans le domaine de la 
bibliothéconomie de la musique. Le gagnant 
recevra ce prix pouvant aller jusqu’à 1000 $ 
lorsque celui-ci présentera ses reçus, après 
la conférence.  
 
Le demandeur doit être membre de l’ACBM, 
ainsi que de l’AIBM (l’Association 
internationale des bibliothèques, archives et 
centres de documentation musicaux), et 
assister à un congrès de l’AIBM pour la 
première fois. On accordera la priorité aux 
personnes qui en sont à faire leurs premières 
armes dans la profession, aux personnes 
récemment diplômées qui se cherchent un 
emploi de bibliothécaire de musique ou aux 
étudiants à la maîtrise en bibliothéconomie 
désireux de devenir bibliothécaires de 
musique. Après la conférence, le gagnant 
devra présenter un rapport qui sera publié 
dans la Revue de l’ACBM.  
 
Le demandeur doit nous faire parvenir les 
documents suivants en format PDF d’ici le 
1er février 2012 : 
 
1. Une lettre de demande stipulant les 
raisons pour lesquelles il participe au 
congrès AIBM 2012, ainsi que celles 
pour lesquelles il croit être un bon 
candidat; il doit également être en 
mesure de démontrer ses besoins 
financiers.  
 
2. Un budget auquel sont inscrits les 
frais de voyage pour se rendre au 
congrès, ainsi que des 
renseignements quant à toute autre 
subvention, subvention égale à la 
somme versée ou appui institutionnel 
que le demandeur serait en droit de 
recevoir et qui seraient susceptibles 
 
CAML REVIEW 39, NO. 3 (NOVEMBER 2011)   PAGE 9 
3. A curriculum vitae 
 
4. Two letters of support, mailed 
directly by recommenders 
(PDF or email) 
 
 
Please email application and 
supporting materials to the Chair of 
the CAML First-Time IAML Attendee 
Award, Cathy Martin, at the following 
address: cathy.martin@mcgill.ca 
 
Please mark the subject line: CAML 
First-Time IAML Attendee Award 
 
The recipient of the award will be 
notified by March 1, 2012 and 
announced at the IAML 2012 
Conference in Montreal.  
For questions about the award, 
please contact the Chair of the CAML 
First-Time IAML Attendee Award at 
the above email address. 
 
de couvrir ses frais de participation à 
la conférence. 
 
3. Un curriculum vitae. 
 
4. Deux lettres d’appui, envoyées 
directement par le répondant, en 
format PDF ou dans un courriel.   
 
 
Veuillez faire parvenir les demandes, ainsi 
que les documents à l’appui, à la présidente 
du Prix décerné à un membre de l’ACBM 
participant pour la première fois au 
congrès de l’AIBM, Cathy Martin, à 
l’adresse suivante : cathy.martin@mcgill.ca 
 
Veuillez inscrire « Prix du participant pour la 
première fois » dans la ligne objet. 
 
On communiquera avec le gagnant d’ici le 
1er mars 2012 et son nom sera annoncé lors 
du congrès AIBM 2012, à Montréal.  
Pour obtenir plus de renseignements à ce 
sujet, veuillez communiquer avec la 
présidente du prix à l’adresse courriel citée 
plus haut. 
 
 
 
 


CAML First-Time IAML Attendee Award /  Prix décerné à un membre de l’ACBM participant pour la première fois au congrès de l’AIBM

Higham, Peter

Sirocco - Sylvie Proulx (CD Review)

CAML Student Paper Award 2012 / Prix pour le meilleur article étudiant 2012 décerné par l’ACBM

Jurkowski, Edward

Weinzweig: Essays on His Life and Music (Book Review)

Jones, Karson

Collecting Heavy Metal Music

Complete issue

Doi, Carolyn

Martin, Cathy

 ------------------------------------ 
© 2011 The authors and the Canadian Association of Music Libraries, Archives and Documentation Centres / 
L’auteur et l’Association canadienne des bibliothèques, archives et centres de documentation musicaux 
28 
 
CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS AND NEW INITIATIVES OF MLA 2011 
 
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA 
 FEBRUARY 9-12, 2011 
 
BY CAROLYN DOI AND CATHY MARTIN 
MCGILL UNIVERSITY 
 
 
The Music Library Association’s 80th Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 
marked the first time a conference theme was employed for the annual event. ―Born 
Digital: A New Frontier for Music Libraries‖ was the chosen theme and therefore the 
focus of many of the sessions. These included plenary, individual, panel-run, and poster 
sessions; as well as the ―Hot Topics in Music Librarianship‖ discussion. The conference 
featured a range of topics, such as digital recordings and copyright, provision of online 
access to audio course reserves, approaches to collection development, new music 
resources, and preservation of recordings.  
 
For those new to the organization, there were opportunities to learn more about the 
structure of MLA through committee business meetings and the ―Get Involved with 
MLA‖ sessions. The latter represented another new initiative at this year’s conference 
and offered participants an informal occasion to meet with committee chairs and round 
table coordinators, learn about the activities of these bodies, and explore opportunities 
for becoming involved. First-time attendees had the chance to attend the ―first-timers‖ 
banquet and participate in the mentoring program, which successfully matched over 
seventy newcomers with more experienced MLA members. 
 
The following are highlights and observations from selected conference sessions. 
 
 
BORN AND REINCARNATED DIGITAL: ONE COURSE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM-BASED SOLUTION 
TO PROVIDING COPYRIGHT COMPLIANT STREAMING AUDIO RESERVES 
 
This session, presented by Lisa Lazar and Carla Myers from the University of Akron, 
featured an introduction to the Streaming Media Reserves system implemented at the 
University of Akron Library. The system provides online streaming access to audio files 
on reserve for music courses at the University and the files are made accessible using 
the course management system, SpringBoard!. 
 
29 
 
The Streaming Media Reserves system provides password protected, streaming access 
for only those students enrolled in the courses for which the files are made available. 
The digital copies of the audio files are made only for works that are being taught as an 
integral part of the course, and the Library makes a good faith effort to purchase a 
commercially available copy of all requested items. The Library will only make copies 
available if they are not already offered through another online service such as Naxos 
Music Library or Classical Music Library. If the file is available through one of these 
vendors, a link is provided in the course management system. At the completion of the 
course, the files are removed from the system, but they can be stored for future use, by 
way of a searchable digitized file archive. 
 
The concept-to-pilot time frame for this project was two years. It received the support of 
both the Library Administration and the Information Technology Services Department, and 
overall the feedback from students and faculty has been positive. In the future, the Library 
hopes to implement a streaming film component to the Streaming Media Reserve System, 
and to supplement the audio files with additional files or links.  
ASK THE MLA/MPA/MOLA JOINT COMMITTEE  
 
The panel for this session included representatives from MLA (Music Library 
Association), MPA (Music Publishers’ Association), and MOLA (Major Orchestra 
Librarians’ Association). Panelists offered their perspectives regarding some of the 
complications involved in the publishing of music. The following issues were among 
those discussed: the differences in the needs of music libraries and performance 
libraries; the fact that because library sales are a very small percentage of the market, 
certain accommodations to make scores shelf-ready would not allow publishers to 
recoup costs; and the problem of ongoing composer revisions, leading to differences 
among various editions. Some of these issues have been addressed by ―on demand‖ 
services, such as the digital options available through Boosey & Hawkes, and ―Schirmer 
on Demand,‖ which offers printable score perusal copies. The session also included 
information about the role of the music engraver in the score publishing process.  
 
EDUCATING MUSIC LIBRARIANS IN THE DIGITAL AGE 
 
As part of this session, Beth Fleming (Oklahoma City University) presented ―Music 
Information Literacy Training with a Digital Twist,‖ which focused on incorporating digital 
and interactive opportunities in the classroom. Examples included creating and 
demonstrating online helping aids such as the ―Guide to Musical Examples‖ in Grove 
Online, linking to resources such as manuscripts in digital repositories, and increasing 
the use of video in instruction. Reference was also made to an interactive online music 
information literacy tutorial from the Cleveland Institute of Music, which functions as a 
training module for undergraduate students (http://www.cim.edu/library/milt/libMilt.php). 
At her own institution, Fleming has developed similar modules which have been 
embedded within the course management system and graded as part of a first-year 
survey course.  
 
30 
 
Fleming also mentioned Jing—as did Sam Cook in a later session, ―Music Librarians in 
La-La land: Where Do Technologies Go When They Finally Emerge?‖ Jing is a free 
screen capture and screencasting tool that has the potential to record internet 
navigations. A number of applications were suggested, such as incorporating the 
recordings into classroom presentations, or using the recordings to provide instructions 
or answers to reference questions in a more visually oriented format. 
 
TOWARD ELECTRONIC MUSIC EDITIONS: THE MUSIC ENCODING INITIATIVE  
 
Erin Mayhood (University of Virginia) presented this session on the Music Encoding 
Initiative (MEI) schema (http://music-encoding.org/home), a set of rules for recording the 
characteristics of music notation documents using XML so that the information 
contained in them may be searched, retrieved, displayed, and exchanged in a 
predictable and platform-independent manner. The schema accommodates the 
encoding of common Western music, and though it is designed primarily for scholarly 
purposes, it does not exclude other uses. The markup allows for tagging of the internal 
structure. It shows potential for addressing the functions of traditional facsimile, critical, 
and performance editions of musical scores. The MEI schema is useful because it has 
the potential to provide access to, and archives of, digital scores that are both transient 
and renewable. This is an open-source and community-driven initiative that is based on 
the Text Encoding Initiative (http://www.tei-c.org/index.xml).  
 
PLENARY II: LICENSING AND DIGITAL MEDIA: OUR MUSICAL HERITAGE AT A 
CROSSROADS 
 
Plenary II featured the following panel of speakers: Corynne McSherry (Electronic 
Frontier Foundation), John T. Robertson (Robertson Law Group), and Kevin L. Smith 
(Duke University). They spoke about the barriers resulting from recordings being made 
available as downloadable files only, and with restrictive licenses—a model that 
conflicts with the traditional library uses associated with lending and preservation. This 
related to another session during which the history of the Lala service was given as an 
example of the unpredictability of maintaining access to licensed digital content.  
 
Corynne McSherry presented several examples of lawsuits dealing with the issue of 
licensing. These examples highlighted the complexities and legal implications of 
attaching licenses to digital objects such as software or music files. In particular, she 
cited the example of a software company restricting sale of its products on the second-
hand market. In this case, the software company claimed that users do not purchase a 
copy of the software, but rather are licensees of the software and therefore cannot 
share or sell their copy. McSherry argued that the presence of a secondary market is 
better both for the economy and the environment as well.  
 
Kevin Smith suggested several approaches for dealing with the issues under 
discussion. One approach put forward was that of relationship development: working 
with vendors to set up a digital preservation system for audio files (currently there is no 
31 
 
digital audio equivalent to LOCKSS); communicating with researchers, performers, and 
composers regarding the preservation issues related to releasing performances in a 
download-only format; and pressuring record companies to consider special library 
licenses.  
 
COLLECTING RECENTLY COMPOSED MUSIC IN THE DIGITAL AGE 
 
Matt Ertz (Indiana University) presented a compilation of online sources useful for 
identifying and finding information about emerging composers (available through 
http://mla2011.musiclibraryassoc.org/files). As well, he discussed various criteria for 
determining which composers are becoming ―significant‖ and should therefore be 
considered for the purposes of collection development. 
 
Greg MacAyeal (Northwestern University) spoke about the challenges—stemming from 
new and varied distribution models—of acquiring recently composed music. For 
example, some composers are now providing their works through a print-on-demand 
system; as such, these scores will not automatically arrive through vendors and must be 
sought out or obtained through special arrangements. At times it is necessary to track 
down even well-established contemporary composers—John Luther Adams, for 
example— who continue to self-publish. 
 
James Wintle (Library of Congress) made the point that many new artists deal solely 
with the internet and have no interest in working with distributors and publishers in the 
traditional manner. He believes that in order to address this issue, librarians should be a 
part of the conversation with composition students and faculty.  
 
OVERDRIVE AND FREEGAL MUSIC PRODUCTS IN PUBLIC LIBRARIES 
 
This session, sponsored by the Public Libraries Committee, featured a panel of 
speakers who discussed Overdrive and Freegal products and their application to music 
audio collections. The session addressed the quality of the services from both the 
library and consumer perspectives.  
 
Overdrive 
 
The Overdrive product provides digital access to ebooks, audio books, and music files. 
Users are able to download an item to their computer and transfer it to mobile devices, 
and then after a certain period of time the item will expire. The library uses traditional 
collection development methods to select items for their online collection. The LibTunes 
service, to be introduced in 2011, will expand OverDrive’s music purchasing options to 
over 500 music labels and nine million tracks. LibTunes offers libraries the option to 
purchase music files on a track-by-track basis, in a similar fashion to the iTunes store. 
There is currently a trial available for LibTunes, but no pricing options were available at 
the time of the conference. 
 
 
32 
 
Freegal 
 
Freegal provides the user with a limited number of weekly downloads of audio files from 
the Sony catalogue, including popular, classical and jazz materials. The panel reported 
that this product, already in use in a number of North American libraries, has been 
received favourably by many users and has also resulted in positive press coverage for 
certain libraries. On the other hand, some of the session attendees expressed 
reservations about libraries putting their collection budgets into access-only products, as 
opposed to a model where the library retains an archival copy. 
 
VARIATIONS … NOT JUST INDIANA’S DIGITAL MUSIC LIBRARY ANYMORE 
 
John Anderies (Haverford College) and Jon Haupt (Southern Methodist University) 
discussed their institutions’ local implementations of the Variations software. Tools 
unique to the Variations system, such as the ―Bookmark‖ tool and the ―Timeliner‖ audio 
annotation and analysis tool, were mentioned. Information was also provided about new 
features, such as a web player, and those in development, such as iPod/iPad versions 
and ―Variations in Video.‖ Both institutions have used the system for high circulation 
recordings or for digitizing audio to be used for reserves. Haupt has created a guide 
related to using the system: http://guides.smu.edu/variations. 
 
 
POSTER SESSION HIGHLIGHTS 
 
Discovery: Undergraduates and Primary Source in Musicology 
 
Harvard University librarian Kerry Carwile Masteller described the work she and 
colleagues have carried out to embed digital primary source materials in a course 
research guide (http://guides.hcl.harvard.edu/music97b). The project was developed in 
response to faculty calls for assistance in introducing primary sources to students.  
 
Preserving Virginia’s Recorded Concerts 
 
Winston Barham of the University of Virginia Music Library presented this institution’s 
efforts to preserve and archive their collection of concert recordings. Up until this time, it 
has been preserved on various media including open-reel tapes, DATs, videotapes and 
audio cassettes. The project aimed to convert these media into archival (WAV in 
archive), reference (WAV on local hard drive), preservation (CD, stored offsite) and 
circulation (CD onsite) copies of the concert recordings, and to provide corresponding 
bibliographic records in the University of Virginia Library Catalogue.  
 
‘Digital Love’: The Description of ‘Pop Muzik’ in Online Resources 
 
This poster was presented by Deb Kulczak and Lora Lennerta Jetton from the 
University of Arkansas Libraries. The poster described the process of determining genre 
tags for a large gift collection of popular music made up of 3,434 CDs and 1,861 vinyl 
recordings. The project was focused on collecting and comparing genre tags for the 
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received collection as determined by allmusic.com, The Encyclopedia of Popular Music, 
and Wikipedia. Results indicated that allmusic.com contained the most bands with 
genres, and the least number of bands with no entries. Wikipedia contained some  
inconsistencies in uniformity within the genres that were applied. The Encyclopedia of 
Popular Music was missing entries for many of the artists in the collection, or did not 
always assign a genre. Based on their findings, the Library was able to determine the 
genres used in all three sources and apply them to the pop music collection.  
 
HOT TOPICS IN MUSIC LIBRARIANSHIP 
 
This lively session, moderated by Tom Caw (University of Wisconsin – Madison), 
offered an opportunity for conference attendees to raise and address timely issues and 
questions facing music libraries and the music industry. The following were among the 
topics that were touched on during the discussion: 
 
 Download-only audio files: There was a call for an institution such as the Library 
of Congress to take on the task of initiating a digital repository for audio that is 
being distributed in download-only format. Other comments echoed concerns on 
issues of copyright, preservation, and access as discussed earlier in the Plenary 
II session. 
 
 Web-scale discovery tools: The discussion focused on the problems all such 
tools still pose with regard to searching for music in various formats.  
 
 Bibliographic utilities: There was mention that some libraries are switching from 
OCLC to SkyRiver for their cataloguing needs. 
 
 Integrated Library Systems: One topic broached in this area was the use of open 
source library systems and their feasibility in academic settings. As well, it was 
mentioned that changes are in store for Aleph and Voyageur users with the 
introduction of the new Ex Libris Alma service.  
 
 Streaming audio: Some participants indicated that usage statistics of certain 
streaming audio services have revealed low use and have led them to cancel 
their subscriptions. It was suggested—here and at other times during the 
conference—that users now predominantly want downloads and are less 
interested in streaming as a mode of access. 
 
 
Files from many of the conference presentations are available at 
http://mla2011.musiclibraryassoc.org/files.  
 


Conference Highlights and New Initiatives of MLA 2011

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