Education and Training

  • Duffy, Michael J., IV. "Selected Research and Writings on Instruction for Music Librarians: An Annotated Bibliography." Music Reference Services Quarterly 8, no. 3 (2004): 37-61.
     
    This is a classified annotated bibliography of selected writings on library instruction for music librarians. Works cited include books and articles about instruction in music libraries, other course-related or course-integrated library instruction, assessment, learning theory, students, bibliographies, and Web resources. (author)

  • Grimes, Marybeth F. To examine the evolving role of the Master of Library Science (MLS) degree in academic libraries, pooled cross-sectional data were collected from job advertisements in College and Research Library News. Beginning with 1975 and continuing at 5-year intervals through 2005, pertinent information from all job advertisements in each monthly issue were compiled. The data produced many interesting facts, such as job openings requiring an MLS peaked in the early 1990s, and that there is a significant drop in a prerequisite MLS beginning in the year 2000.
  • Library School Liaison Subcommittee of the Music Library Association. "Core Competencies and Music Librarians" (April 2002). Available at http://www.musiclibraryassoc.org.

    This report may be found within the "Music Librarianship: Is It for You?" page on the main MLA web site under the "Music Librarianship" link. Prepared by David Hunter (UT-Austin) on behalf of MLA's Library School Liaison Subcommittee, this report states that "The concept of 'core competencies' became a central concern of businesses and of libraries during the 1990s. Attempts to define core competencies for companies and libraries and the individuals who work in them were welcomed as a way of ensuring focus as well as standards of proficiency and accomplishment. . . . Core competencies not only define the present, they also ensure a future for the profession." (author)

  • Marley, Judith. "Education for Music Librarianship within the United States: Needs and Opinions of Recent Graduate/Practitioners." Fontes Artis Musicae 49, no. 3 (July/Sept. 2002): 139-72. Based on the author's dissertation: "Education for Music Librarianship within the United States: Content Analysis of Selected Documentation and Structured Interviews with Selected Practitioners." Ph.D. diss., University of Pittsburgh, 2001.

    The literature of many different types of special librarianship, as practiced within the United States, includes a long-standing debate concerning the specific generic and subject-related knowledge and skills to be acquired during the special librarian's professional education. This debate is particularly heated within specialties devoted to archives, business/corporate, law, medicine, and music. (Dissertation Abstracts)

  • Morrow, Jean. "Education for Music Librarianship." Notes 56, no. 3 (March 2000): 655-61. Also published in Music Librarianship at the Turn of the Century, ed. by Richard Griscom and Amanda Maple. Music Library Association Technical Reports, no. 27. Lanham, Maryland: The Scarecrow Press, 2000, pp. 93-99.

    Part of a special issue on music librarianship at the turn of the century. For over two generations, members of the Music Library Association have recognized that the basic qualifications required for entry into the music library profession consisted of general library training, music background, and knowledge of the unique issues of a music library. Qualification for entry-level positions today are more rigorous than those required in the 1970s and 1980s, with 90 percent of positions requiring an M.L.S. and over 55 percent requiring at least one degree in music. Accordingly, library schools have dramatically revised their curricula to prepare students for the demands of today's library jobs. For established librarians, continuing education that can be pursued successfully while still carrying out responsibilities meets the need to keep up with a steady stream of new information, new procedures, and new technologies. Perhaps the greatest potential for increasing the possibilities for education in music librarianship lies in the recent developments in long-distance learning and Web technology. ( Library Literature)

  • ________. "Preparing to be a Music Librarian." In Careers in Music Librarianship II, ed. by Paula Elliot and Linda Blair. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2004.

    Music librarians come in many varieties, as do their job responsibilities and the types of experience and knowledge they bring to their jobs. The typical music librarian comes to the profession already possessing a strong background in music and has learned about library procedures in library school, on the job, or, in the majority of cases, through a combination of both. One can travel many routes to become a competent music librarian. Some of the most renowned members of this profession spent years working as musical scholars, others as performing musicians, often coming only later in their careers to library work. Among younger members of the profession, many decided early in their college years that they wanted to combine their love of music and musical training with library work and earned degrees in both fields before ever seeking professional employment. (author)

  • Oates, Jennifer. "Music Librarianship Education: Problems and Solutions." Music Reference Services Quarterly 8, no. 3 (2004): 1-24.

    Information Studies and Library Studies departments do not usually offer specialized reference courses for aspiring music librarians. Most music departments in academic universities offer some type of music bibliography course, which often combines music bibliography with an introduction to music research. Some music library students, however, do not have access to such music bibliography courses. While a number of articles outline the problems with music librarianship education, few offer any solutions, suggestions, or additional resources. This article outlines the inadequacies in the training provided by many MLS programs to students of music librarianship, suggesting practical solutions, and includes recommended resources for students. (author)

  • Quist, Ned. "Tomorrow's Music Librarians." In Careers in Music Librarianship II, ed. by Paula Elliot and Linda Blair. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2004.

    Looking into the future rarely yields profound insights; rather it is often educated guesses built on previous experience. The experience offered here is that of an academic music librarian, currently the most prevalent kind of music library, but not necessarily so in the future. The educated guesses are those of one who has served the professional largely in private institutions of higher learning where resources, though rarely sumptuous, are at least reasonably consistent. They are consistent enough that looking into the future is not a discouraging practice but rather a useful and often successful pastime combing hope, potential, and a great deal of good fortune, some of which comes to all of us at one time or another. (author)
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