MLA News

The Music Library Association, in memory of its Past President and Honorary Member Walter Gerboth, established the Gerboth Award. It is made to members of MLA who are in the first five years of their professional library careers, to assist research-in-progress in music or music librarianship. Eligible members are invited to apply by July 16, 2010 for next year's award. Please send the following information via e-mail, to the Chair of the Committee, Morris Levy, at morris-levy@northwestern.edu:

1. A description of the project and a statement about its significance.
2. A detailed total budget, specifying the amount of funding requested from MLA (to a maximum of $1,000) and its purpose (capital purchases are not eligible). Indicate any other sources of funding you may have already secured.
3. Two letters of recommendation-- one for the project and one for yourself.
4. A curriculum vitae that also names additional references.

If you have any questions about the award, particularly about whether you are qualified to apply for it, please contact the Chair.

The Music Library Association Publications Awards Committee welcomes nominations for the following annual awards:

• The Vincent H. Duckles Award for the best book-length bibliography or other research tool in music.
• The Richard S. Hill Award for the best article on music librarianship or article of a music-bibliographic nature.
• The Eva Judd O'Meara Award for the best review in Notes.

Publications nominated for awards to be announced in 2011 must have been published during the 2009 calendar year. Nominations may be directed to any member of the Committee: Andrew Justice (andrew.justice@unt.edu ), Kristen Castellana (krismcc@umich.edu ), or Kirstin Dougan (dougan@illinois.edu ).

Deadline for nominations is July 15, 2010.

The Dena Epstein Award for Archival and Library Research in American Music was created in 1995 through a generous gift from Morton and Dena Epstein to the Music Library Association. Requests are currently being accepted for one or more grants to be awarded for the year 2011. The amount to be awarded is $2100. The decision of the Dena Epstein Award Committee and the Board of Directors of the Music Library Association will be announced at the MLA annual meeting in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which will be held February 9–12, 2011.

A grant may be awarded to support research in archives or libraries (both nationally and internationally) on any aspect of American music. There are no restrictions as to applicant's age, nationality, profession, or institutional affiliation. All proposals will be reviewed entirely based on merit. Awards may be presented to an individual applicant or divided among multiple applicants. At its discretion, the committee may choose not to award a grant during any particular year. An applicant who has not received an Epstein Award for the first year of application may resubmit a proposal in the two following years for any one project. An applicant may receive only one award for any one project.

Applicants must submit the following documents:

1. A brief research proposal (under 10 pages) that includes:
   1. a description of the project
   2. a detailed budget for the project, indicating:
      1. the amount of funding requested (capital purchases such as computer equipment and furniture are ineligible)
      2. justification for the funding
      3. additional sources of funding
   3. a demonstration of how the applicant's research will contribute to the study and understanding of American music
      
2. A curriculum vitae of the applicant.
3. Three letters of support from librarians and/or scholars knowledgeable about American music.

Applications should be submitted by e-mail attachment and must be in Microsoft Word or PDF format.

Please send required documentation to D.J. Hoek, chair of the Dena Epstein Award Committee, at djhoek@northwestern.edu.

The deadline for receipt of proposals and letters of support is July 1, 2010.

Applications are now being accepted for the Kevin Freeman Travel Grant. The grant, established in 1994 to honor the memory of Kevin Freeman and awarded for the first time in 1997, supports attendance of music librarians new to the field to the Music Library Association's annual meeting. Recipients receive gratis conference registration and a cash
award of up to $750 for travel costs (transportation and accommodations at the convention hotel at half of the double occupancy rate*). At least one grant will be awarded to a first-time attendee, if applicable.

Applicants must be members of the Music Library Association and in one of the following
groups:

• in the first three years of their professional career,
• a graduate student in library school (by the time of the conference, 9-12 February 2011) aspiring to become a music librarian, OR
• a recent graduate (within one year of degree) of a graduate program in librarianship seeking a professional position as a music librarian

Previous applicants who still qualify are welcome to reapply.

Applicants must submit the following in .pdf by October 1, 2010:

• A letter of application which includes:
  • The reasons for attending the MLA Annual Conference and why you are a
    good candidate for this grant
  • A justification of financial need
  • A budget for travel costs to attend the MLA Annual Conference
    
  • Information about any other grants, matching funds, institutional support
    you may also receive to cover costs to attend the MLA Annual Conference
  • The number of times you have attended the national MLA meeting.
  • A current vita
    
• Two letters of support directly mailed by recommenders (.pdf or email)

Please email application and supporting materials (.pdf) to the Chair of the Freeman Travel
Grant Committee:

Michael Colby <mdcolby@ucdavis.edu >
Please mark the subject line: Freeman Travel Grant Application.

Grant recipients will be notified by November 1, 2010 and announced at the MLA 2011
Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

For questions about the award, please contact the Chair of the Freeman Travel Grant
Committee at the above email address.

*Room rates are estimated to be $179 for double occupancy, with state and local taxes at
15.2%

MLA's Bibliographic Control Committee and its Metadata Subcommittee are pleased to announce the online release of "Metadata Standards and Guidelines for Digital Audio." The Metadata Subcommittee worked with the ALA Audio Metadata Task Force, in the Preservation and Reformatting Section (PARS) of the Association for Library Collections and Technical Services (ALCTS), to create this document. It can be found linked from the PARS page or you can link directly to the document.

The document outlines a number of metadata standards relevant to the description and management of digital audio, explaining its purpose and providing links to documentation and relevant examples. We hope it will be useful to the MLA community.

Jenn Riley
Chair, MLA BCC Metadata Subcommittee