music libraries, librarianship and documentation in sweden — an overview
TRANSCRIPT
Music Libraries, Librarianship and Documentation in Sweden —an OverviewAuthor(s): Anders LönnSource: Fontes Artis Musicae, Vol. 33, No. 2 (April-Juni 1986), pp. 128-134Published by: International Association of Music Libraries, Archives, and Documentation Centres(IAML)Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/23507190 .
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128
Music Libraries, Librarianship and Documentation in Sweden - an Overview Anders Lönn (Stockholm)'
In synoptic form, the music library scene in Sweden can be characterized as follows: - numerous collections of older source material, music and music literature (in the university
libraries, the Library of the Swedish Academy of Music, the Royal Library, a few public libraries and one private foundation) - one special library (the Music Academy Library) as a national resource for scholars and
performers alike - a public music library system that leaves much to be desired - libraries of varying size at the music conservatories and modest collections at university
musicology departments - a number of special area documentation centres (Swedish music history in general, folk
music and jazz, contemporary serious and popular music, hymn research, electronic music)
complement the general library system - a National Archive for Recorded Sound and Moving Images (ALB) with responsibility not
only for commercial sound, film and video recordings but also for radio and television
programs - a Swedish Radio Company (a public service monopoly, but not formally a state body) with
by far the best-stocked sound recording library,1 cooperating with the national sound
archive; and a music library with modern collections at least on a par with and sometimes
surpassing the Music Academy Library but not open to the public, and somewhat outside
the general library community - a central lending collection of orchestral scores and parts at the Academy Library plus
good-sized libraries at the major professional orchestras and opera houses as well as the
radio - limited education and training opportunities at the country's one library school - few music library positions, but a fairly strong "family feeling" and close-knit professional network.
Several of the libraries and other institutions are described in separate articles in this
Fontes issue. In the following I will deal briefly with those which are not, and develop some
of the genral aspects of Swedish music librarianship and documentation.
The university libraries
In addition to Kungl. biblioteket (the Royal Library) in Stockholm, Sweden has university libraries in-in order of foundation-Uppsala, Lund, Göteborg, Stockholm, Umeâ and
Linköping (the last three date from the 20th century). Of these, Uppsala, Lund and the
Royal Library have significant holdings of older music materials (books and printed or
manuscript music). Göteborg is the only research library to have a noteworthy collection of sound recordings. None of them has a special music division, however, and not all of them
have subject specialists in charge of the material.
By historical happenstance, the collections of older sources are neatly divided among the main repositories:
* Anders Lönn is Chief Librarian at the Library of the Swedish Academy of Music and chair of the Swedish Music Library Association (Swedish IAML). 1 Described by its director, Claes Cnattingius, in the Phonographic bulletin issue for the Stockholm conference.
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Anders Lönn: Music Libraries, Librarianship and Documentation in Sweden 129
- medieval: Uppsala University Library, Royal Library - 16th and 17th centuries: Uppsala University Library - 1st half of 18th century: Lund University Library - 2nd half of 18th and early 19th century: Library of the Swedish Academy of Music
(This is a convenient rule-of-thumb guide to the main strengths of their holdings. It is not to
say that these libraries do not have sources from other periods.) In addition, a few public libraries (some of them former diocesan libraries) have notable
collections of rare materials, e.g. Norrköping, Skara, Västeräs, Växjö.2 There is also one
remarkable private collection of autographs of major European composers, now a trust:
Stiftelsen musikkulturens främjande. A detailed description of many of these older
collections is given in Âke Davidsson's article below.
The Royal Library is the national library, and responsible for the (separately issued) music section of the national bibliography, Svensk musikförteckning. All university libraries
receive deposit copies as well (i.e. 7 in all), printed music included, but only the Royal
Library and the Lund University Library are obliged to keep them. The other copies may be
disposed of a the library sees fit (usually to selected libraries in the region, e.g. a music
conservatory or a musicology department). Deposit copies of sound recordings go to ALB, the national sound, film and video archive (cf. separate article). The Music Academy
Library does not receive deposit copies. Swedish research libraries, for all that they mostly have closed stacks, are quite accessible.
With material for reading room use there are no formalities : you can walk in from the street
(no testimonials or applications in writing three months in advance), there are no readers'
tickets, you are not asked who you are or what business you have with this precious stuff -
that is regarded as your business, the library's is to make the material available to you.
Normally, it will also supply copies with no questions asked (one exception may be if you order wholesale copying of entire collections). This liberal attitude is probably influenced by the fact that Sweden's Freedom of Information Act, which gives any Swede unlimited access
to any government document that does not actually have a security classification, dates back
to 1766. Access to official information is an ingrained right, and this extends to the libraries
that are part of the public sphere. (Regrettably, for copyright reasons it does not extend to
sound and video recordings; cf. the article on ALB.)
Conservatory libraries and Musicology institutes
Musicological research at the universities is sharply distinguished from the training of
teachers and performers at the conservatories. Sweden has state conservatories in
Stockholm, Göteborg, Malmö, Ingesund (Arvika), Örebro and Piteâ, which all have their
own libraries, usually staffed by one qualified librarian (not necessarily full-time) and one or
two support staff. Their collections vary considerably in extent, but they all contain music
for the study and performance needs of the schools, including orchestral sets (they also
handle hire materials), sound recordings and music literature. Although these libraries are
part of the university structure, most of them are relatively independent units.
The libraries at the departments (called Institutes) of musicology at the universities of
Uppsala, Stockholm, Göteborg and Lund are rather more modest affairs: a reference
collection of the most essential literature and a selection of periodicals, gramophone records
and sometimes taped broadcast performances, etc., perhaps some collected editions; they
are usually in the charge of an undergraduate appointed by the institute. The main university
library assists them with cataloguing, and usually coordinates acquisitions. For anything out
of the ordinary, loans from the Academy library in Stockholm are resorted to.
See the Directory of Music Research Libraries and Rita Benton's article Libraries in: The New Grove.
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130 Anders Lönn: Music Libraries, Librarianship and Documentation in Sweden
Libraries in performing organizations
The major professional, government-subsidized orchestras and opera houses have their
own libraries of performance materials, in addition to what they need to hire. They will
usually circulate the works among themselves, but - understandably enough, since the
material is specially marked and somtimes restricted by copyright - not to semi-professional
or amateur bodies. Regionmusiken (the Regional Music Authority), which oversees the 22
regional (former military) music corps, has a central library primarily of band music.
(A transfer to the Music Academy Library has been suggested.)
Specialized documentation and research centres
In addition to the Swedish Music History Archive, the Swedish Centre for Folk Song and
Folk Music Research (with a jazz department) and the Swedish Music Information Center
(with a popular sheet music archive), which are described in separate articles and all of
which are well-established institutions, there are smaller collections of the same kind (i. e. of
information on a special area or subject, with literature, copies of sources, etc.), e. g. at the
Institute of Musicology at Lund University "documentation archives" for the Lutheran
chorale in Sweden, for electro-acoustic music and for music therapy. These are not
institutionalized: they owe their existence to individual enthusiasts. Besides the nation-wide
activities of the Centre for Folk Song, there are regional centres established by individual
efforts in several places, sometimes supported by local government, housed in local history museums, or the like.
Music library associations
Svenska musikbiblioteksföreningen (the Swedish Music Library Association), the Swedish branch of IAML, was founded in 1953, under the chairmanship of Gösta Morin, then Chief
Librarian of the Library of the Swedish Academy of Music. For many years, the association
was practically synonymous with Swedish RISM, which started in 1954 and was carried out
at the Academy Library, a cooperation that after Morin's retirement was not without its
complications, and occupied most of the board's energies. When the RISM cataloguing was
completed in 1977, the association was free to branch out in other directions. It was felt
particularly that for the association to develop, more attention had to be given to public music library concerns, and these have been one focus of interest in the present "age of
austerity". Apart from various support measures, the association has sought to improve the
training and continuing education of music librarians (see below). It also initiated a report on the state of music librarianship by the official Public Library Commission (cf. Bibbi Andersson's article), and has undertaken a supplementary survey of printed music in public libraries.
Other projects have included: contributions to the new cataloguing rules and the revision of the Swedish classification scheme; the Third Meeting of Nordic Music Librarians (in Stockholm and Mariehamn 1981);3 and, since 1981, the publication of a newsletter,
Musikbiblioteksnytt (4 issues a year). The increased activity has partly been made possible by a small but essential grant from the Swedish National Cultural Council (in 1985 Sw. kronor 10,000), which has also served to keep membership dues down. As a sign of its
shifting emphasis, the association changed its name in 1980 from the slightly nondescript Swedish Section of AIBM to its present appellation. The membership, which at that time stood at 75, has grown to 115: the potential for further growth is probably limited. - Chairs after Morin have been Folke Lindberg, Bengt Kyhlberg and (since 1981) Anders Lönn.
3 Tredje Nordiska musikbiblioteksmötet 13-16 maj 1981 i Stockholm och Mariehamn: Rapport. Red. Birgitte Home
Jensen. Stockholm: Svenska musikbiblioteksföreningen: Musikaliska akademiens bibliotek, 1981.
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Anders Lönn: Music Libraries, Librarianship and Documentation in Sweden 131
Specialgruppen för AV-media (the Special Group for Audio-Visual Materials) is one of the
subject groups within the Swedish Library Association. The Group is almost exclusively
public-library oriented, and concerned with all AV media, although music has a large share
of its attention. With its channel to the Library Association, it has been quite effective as a
pressure group. Its relations to Swedish IAML have always been friendly, but closer
cooperation has been achieved during the past few years. The two bodies have undertaken
several joint projects, among them a very successful conference in 1983 on The Library in
the Musical Life of the Community, bringing together musical directors, local politicians and
public librarians. - The Group has been chaired for many years by Anna-Maria Kylberg,
Heisingborg Public Library, who has also served as chair of the IFLA Audio-Visual Round
Table.
Cataloguing and classification
Until quite recently, Sweden had no generally accepted cataloguing rules for music or
sound recordings. In the 1970s, new codes for research libraries (1974) and public libraries
(1976) were introduced, both based on ISBD(M): neither made any provisions other than
for printed texts (books and serials). For music, a variety of in-house rules or the general book rules (with or without modifications) were used; sound recordings
- apart from the
radio, almost exclusively a public library concern - were catalogued by the central service
agency, Bibliotekstjänst, with rules based on those of the radio, and later after a modified
ISBN(NBM). With the publication of a Swedish version of AACR2, Katalogiseringsregler för svenska
bibliotek (KRS) in 1983, public and research libraries were presented with their first joint code, and, also for the first time, with a code that covers all library media. (These were two
major reasons why it was decided to adopt it in the first place.) KRS is a somewhat revised
version rather than a mere translation.
The code was prepared by a committee appointed by the Swedish Library Association
with representatives from various types of libraries. Rather unusually, music libraries were
given a place on the committee (by a happy coincidence one other member, appointed in a
different capacity, was an erstwhile music librarian as well). Swedish IAML set up a music
sub-committee, on which the two committee members (Anders Lönn, Per Halberg) served
as chair and secretary, and the music rules were undoubtedly more thoroughly discussed and
vetted than any other part of the new code. Not surprisingly, the music chapters contain the
most differences in detail from the original. (Also not surprisingly, they are not sufficient.)
ISBD(PM) and ISBD(NBM), neither of which existed when the Anglo-American code was
prepared, were drawn on in some instances, and several Library of Congress interpretations were incorporated into the Swedish rules.
KRS has been adopted by the two computerized library networks in Sweden (cf. below),
and by most other libraries, e. g. the conservatory libraries. The only major music library
that has not made the change is that of the Swedish Radio. Nor has the national sound
archive, which follows the (different) system of the Radio Record Library. The Anglo
American rules for construction of uniform titles have caused some headaches ; on the other
hand, they have necessitated closer contacts between Swedish music libraries, and in that
respect will have a salutary influence. (Incidentally, KRS follows AACR1 rather than
AACR2 in the choice of language for distinctive uniform titles: that is, an established
Swedish title is preferred for "uncommon" languages.)
With regard to subject access, the picture is similar in some respects, dissimilar in others.
Swedish libraries almost invariably have a classified catalogue and if they have open shelves
use the classified arrangement there as well. The public libraries and many research libraries
(at least in the humanistic disciplines) use the identical classification system, though a number of local variants exist. Unlike the cataloguing rules it is a purely national scheme.
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132 Anders Lönn: Music Libraries, Librarianship and Documentation in Sweden
Known as SAB (the acronym of its sponsor, Sveriges allmänna biblioteksförening, the
Swedish Library Association), it seems to be used by only one library outside Sweden:
Odense University Library, Denmark. Subject headings are not as common in Sweden, and
when they occur they are mostly from in-house lists: there is nothing even remotely
approaching the status of, e. g., the Library of Congress List of Subject Headings. The
subject index to the revised SAB scheme attempts to do something towards standardizing the terminology, however.
SAB is a general scheme and music, although included, has not been well served by it.
Revisions have been called for repeatedly, not least by Swedish IAML, but not until 1985, when a new edition of the entire scheme was completed, were the music classes reworked to
permit greater specificity, accomodate research library needs for genre classifications and
provide for jazz and popular music. (SAB has separate but virtually parallel classes for music
literature, printed music, and music sound recordings. In the revised system, other sound
recordings -
spoken word, birdsong, etc. - are grouped with the corresponding texts and
distinguished by a common auxiliary for medium.) As with the cataloguing rules, Swedish
IAML was consulted throughout, and provided much of the input for the music sections.
The result is not ideal, since existing notations had to be respected whenever possible and
the revision was accomplished in the minimum of time and with the minimum of money, but
it does provide even a large music library such as the Academy Library with a scheme that
meets most of its needs. Numerous music terms have been added to the subject index.
Automation
The use of computers in Swedish libraries goes back to the mid-1970s, when a shared on
line cataloguing system, LIB RIS, was adopted by the major research libraries. Administered
by the national library, it has since been joined by all general research and many special libraries, and is now a well-functioning and stable system, but still with rather limited
capabilites other than the basic cataloguing and location functions (e.g. subject search
facilities were not available until 1985, there is no authority file, it does not support inter
library loan or circulation, communication is not well-developed, etc.). The system produces
catalogue cards for all participating libraries: hardly any Swedish library has yet closed its card catalogue.
The central service agency for the public libraries, Bibliotekstjänst (Btj), developed its own system (its acronym, BUMS, can also be interpreted as "on the double", and has none of the unfortunate English connotations), focussing on circulation control rather than
cataloguing. Unlike LIBRIS, it is a centralized, not a cooperative system, and the output is
on microfiche, not on-line. Less than half of the Swedish public libraries have joined, but all
of them receive laser-printed catalogue cards from Btj, produced from the data base. (The LIBRIS cards are printed by Btj as well.)
From their separate beginnings, the systems have moved closer to one another. (One admirable feature they have shared from the outset: the insistence on only one record for
any one item in the file.) BUMS has improved its cataloguing facilities and now allows selected public libraries to input on-line, and on-line searching on a wider scale is on its way. Each system uses its own version of the MARC format. After the adoption of the new
cataloguing rules, some of the differences have been ironed out, but enough remain to
prevent the two systems to communicate, though this is the eventual goal. Local turn-key systems are emerging as a complement (or a threat?) to the national networks.
What about music and sound recordings in these systems? The lack of national
cataloguing rules was an obstacle to concerted efforts, and the Music Academy Library, the natural institution to take the lead, has awaited the appearance of KRS, as well as being in a
quandary about which of the systems to join. Still, LIBRIS does contain some printed music, almost exclusively Denkmäler and collected editions, catalogued according to the former
rules, without uniform titles. From 1986 on, it will also contain the Swedish music
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Anders Lönn: Music Libraries, Librarianship and Documentation in Sweden 133
catalogued for the national bibliography by the Royal Library. BUMS contains sound
recordings catalogued by Bibliotekstjänst for the public libraries, and after the adoption of
KRS a growing amount of printed music. To pave the way for the eventual communication
between the systems, the Academy Library, which now expects to join LIBRIS as soon as
funds become available, and Bibliotekstjänst cooperate closely on rule interpretations, an
authority file for uniform titles, etc. So far, neither of the systems copes successfully with the
special problems of music uniform titles.
Education and training
Until recently there was no special education for music librarians in Sweden. The country
has only one School of Librarianship, in Borâs near Göteborg, which offers a general two
year course, with some specialization during the second year. About 48 hours on music
(repertoire studies, formats and selection of printed music, cataloguing, classification) are
included for all students, most of whom, of course, have no music background. There is no
further specialization in music during the basic education. There is, however, a required ten
week internship, which can be spent at a music library, though the country's few such
libraries cannot accept more than a small number of interns.
From time to time the school has arranged brief (two-week) continuing education courses
in music librarianship, recently planned and taught by Swedish IAML. For the rest, on-the
job training and such information as one can pick up from meeting with colleagues must
make up for the lack of formal education opportunities.
In 1984, after discussions with Swedish IAML and the AV Group, a pilot project to
provide some music specialization during the basic education was launched. A year's study
at the Institute of Musicology, Göteborg University, is interpolated between the first and
second year at the library school. However, there are only five places a year, and apart from
a certain emphasis on music library matters during the two years at Borâs, the students
receive the same training and the same degree as everyone else. (If they did not, their future
career opportunities would be severely limited.) Since there have almost always been
students at Borâs with a grounding in musicology, the differences are more apparent than
real, and at the time of writing it is uncertain if the program will be continued. The basic
fault of the scheme is that very little subject specialization can be crammed into a two-year
general library education.
A market for music librarians?
The prospects for the newly graduated librarian who wants to work with music are bleak.
Apart from the Academy Library, the Radio Music Library and the couple of specialist
institutions, which hardly ever have a vacancy, there are only a handful of positions as music
librarian in the public library domain and at the conservatories. At best, one can obtain a
post in a public or university library that will include music among the duties, and where,
with initiative, luck and a sympathetic director, one might eventually develop into a fuller
fledged music librarian. *
Perhaps because of the isolation that often goes with a music librarian's job-and, of
course, their shared love: music - those who are active in the field tend to form a close-knit
community. (This seems to be true of any country, small or big.) Opportunities of meeting
with one's like-minded are seized upon. Conferences organized by the two Swedish
associations have been enthusiastically attended, and continuing education courses are
always fully subscribed. There are meetings of informal special interest groups within the
special interest, such as conservatory librarians and orchestra librarians, in addition to the
annual general meetings of the national bodies. Swedish IAML's newsletter is now another
and welcome means of information.
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134 Anders Lönn: Music Libraries, Librarianship and Documentation in Sweden
If there are few openings and little mobility within the profession, this also owes
something to the fact that outward mobility, to general librarianship for instance, is all but
non-existent. Few of us who have chosen or who have come to make music librarianship our
career seem much inclined to look elsewhere.
On peut, de façon sommaire, dresser des bibliothèques musicales suédoises le tableau suivant: - de nombreuses collections de sources anciennes, de musique et de littérature musicale réunies dans les bibliothèques universitaires, la Bibliothèque de l'Académie de musique suédoise, la Bibliothèque Royale, quelques bibliothèques publiques et une fondation privée; - une bibliothèque spécialisée réunissant une documentation nationale pour les chercheurs ainsi que pour les interprètes (la bibliothèque de l'Académie de musique suédoise) ; - un système de bibliothèques musicales publiques laissant beaucoup à désirer; - des bibliothèques d'importance variable dans les conservatoires de musique et de petites collections dans les départements de musicologie universitaires; - quelques centres de documentation spécialisés dans différents aspects de la musique suédoise et qui complètent le système général; - des archives audio-visuelles nationales (Ton und Bild) chargées non seulement des bandes sonores
publicitaires, cinématographiques et vidéo, mais aussi des programmes de radio et de télévision; - la société radiophonique suédoise qui possède de loin la discothèque la plus riche et une bibliothèque musicale comprenant d'excellentes collections modernes; mais elle n'est pas ouverte au public et se situe
quelque peu en dehors du circuit général des bibliothèques; - une collection centrale de prêt de partitions et de parties d'orchestre conservée à la Bibliothèque de
l'Académie, ainsi que des bibliothèques assez importantes attachées aux principaux orchestres
professionnels, aux différents opéras et à la radio; - des possibilités d'instruction et de formation limitées à la seule école de bibliothécaires du pays; - peu d'emplois dans les bibliothèques musicales, mais un «esprit de famille» assez fort et un réseau
professionnel très serré.
Plusieurs de ces bibliothèques et institutions sont décrites séparément dans ce numéro de Fontes. Cette introduction présente brièvement celles qui ne le sont pas et développe certains points d'ordre
générai concernant les bibliothèques et la documentation musicales en Suède. *
Die Musikbibliotheksszene in Schweden läßt sich zusammenfassend wie folgt charakterisieren: - zahlreiche Sammlungen mit altem Quellenmaterial zur Musik und Musikliteratur (in den Univer
sitätsbibliotheken, in der Bibliothek der Schwedischen Akademie für Musik, in der Königlichen Bibliothek, in einigen öffentlichen Bibliotheken und in einer privaten Stiftung); - eine Spezialbibliothek als eine nationale Hilfsquelle für Wissenschaftler und Musiker (die Bibliothek der Akademie für Musik); - ein öffentliches Musikbibliothekssystem, das viel zu wünschen übrig läßt; - Bibliotheken von unterschiedlicher Größe an Musikkonservatorien und mit bescheidenen Samm
lungen in Musikwissenschaftlichen Instituten der Universitäten; - einige Dokumentationszentren für spezielle Bereiche der schwedischen Musik ergänzen das generelle Bibliothekssystem ; - ein nationales Ton- und Bildarchiv, verantwortlich nicht nur für kommerzielles Ton-, Film- und
Videoaufnahmen, sondern auch für Radio- und Fernsehprogramme; - die schwedische Radiogesellschaft mit der wohl am besten ausgestatteten Bibliothek für Tonauf nahmen und mit einer Musikbibliothek mit ausgezeichneten modernen Sammlungen, für die Öffentlich keit jedoch unzugänglich und etwas außerhalb der generellen Bibliotheksvereinigung; - eine zentrale Leihstelle für Orchesterpartituren und Stimmen an der Akademie-Bibliothek, dazu relativ große Bibliotheken sowohl bei den wichtigsten professionellen Orchestern und Opernhäusern als auch beim Rundfunk; - begrenzte Unterrichts- und Ausbildungsmöglichkeiten an der einzigen Bibliotheksschule des Landes; -
wenige Musikbibliotheksstellen, jedoch ein ziemlich starkes „Familiengefühl" und ein enggeknüpftes professionelles Bibliotheksnetz.
Für einige dieser Bibliotheken und Institute enthält das vorliegende Fontey-Heft eigene Beschrei
bungen. Die anderen Bibliotheken werden in dieser zusammenfassenden Einleitung kurz charak terisiert. Darüber hinaus werden einige generelle Gesichtspunkte der Bibliotheksarbeit und Dokumen tation in Schweden aufgezeigt.
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