RECORD LIBRARIES COMMISSIONAuthor(s): Derek LewisSource: Fontes Artis Musicae, Vol. 23, No. 2 (1976 April-Juni), pp. 77-80Published by: International Association of Music Libraries, Archives, and Documentation Centres(IAML)Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/23506271 .

Accessed: 14/06/2014 19:09

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range ofcontent in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new formsof scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

.

International Association of Music Libraries, Archives, and Documentation Centres (IAML) is collaboratingwith JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Fontes Artis Musicae.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 185.2.32.96 on Sat, 14 Jun 2014 19:09:39 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

IAML Annual Conference in Montreal 77

RECORD LIBRARIES COMMISSION

a) An International Standard for Discographies

Chairman: Gerald Gibson (Library of Congress)

Panel: Dan Allen (University of Toronto) Richard K. Spottswood (Library of Congress) J. F. Weber (Discographer, U.S.A.) Rolf Schuursma (Stichting Film en Wetenschap, Utrecht) James Creighton (University of Toronto)

The session was preceded by a short introduction by Donald Leavitt (Library of Congress) in which he remarked upon the division of responsibilities assumed by IASA as distinct from the Record

Library Commission of IAML. It was a useful time to stand back and appraise the functions of each

organisation, its individual importance, and how usefully each complemented the other. He hoped this would be borne in mind when meetings for next year's programme in Bergen were under considera tion. Otner useful topics could encompass the problems encountered by the circulating libraries, and the need for education and training in record librarianship.

Gerald Gibson in introducing the session noted that an International Standard for Discographies was

hardly an innovation. Previous attempts had usually foundered on the inevitable problems of seman

tics, terms of reference, and a common meeting-ground for all interests. Five speakers, each repre senting a different interest in recorded material had been invited to present their ideas of discographi cal citation. From these it was hoped to discover a common sequential order if such a thing was

possible, bearing in mind such factors as punctuation, the ISBD, and the preparation of material via mechanical means.

Richard Spottswood is in charge of the Bicentennial Recording Projects at the Library of Congress and particularly concerned with Ethnic material and recordings in the vernacular. He spoke of

discography as a common meeting-ground, and considered its long-term and immediate needs. He cited the different types of discography that could be produced, of which the most important were a)

,Genre' discographies (instancing the pioneering 1936 ,Hot Discography of DeLaunay); b),Performer'

discographies; c) ,Media' discographies (cylinders etc.); and d) ,Record Company' discographies (in

stancing the Brian Rust RCA Victor Master Book). In connection with the last example, there is great need for a complete published history of individual companies, giving full details of all recording matrices, both published and unpublished. His own desiderata for a standard discography would

include the following: a) Matrix number, b) ,Take' number, c) Composer information, d) Publication information, e)

Release numbers (this could involve problems of identification of the sound carrier, with recent

developments in this field), f) Participants (performers). Dan Allen's specialisation is in jazz and he stressed the importance of enumerating the different

.takes' from a session, where due to the improvisatory element, each could contain much of individual interest. Indeed studio sessions were often of more interest to the jazz enthusiast than ,live' concert

recordings, where this very same improvisational element was under strict control. Desirable entries on a discography would include a .thematic' reference of the original tune being used as the basis of the

jazz improvisation; the personnel of a group at the time of recording; also transcriptions of solo

passages, and useful comments by the musicians involved. J. F. Weber has had much previous experience in producing discographies, and has been most

concerned with artist and composer discographies. In his opinion there are three basic types: 1) Numerical: a listing under the issuing company's original numbers, with matrix details, and a

cross-reference to other major issue (or re-issue) numbers.

2) Artist (Performer): Entries in chronological order of recording. A useful study of an artist's

development. 3) Content: Discographies of the recorded output of a particular composer or a subject (such as

.American Organ Music'). These last posed problems of a rational structure, and the comparative ease with which new entries

can be added. The essential elements he considered were a) recording date, b) record numbers (both

This content downloaded from 185.2.32.96 on Sat, 14 Jun 2014 19:09:39 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

78 IAML Annual Conference in Montreal

issue and matrix, the latter being a vital source of much additional information), c) individual perform ances (usually distinguished by ,take' number), d) description of format.

Under ideal conditions the discographer should have access to every recording in its original format, with access to the record company's files as a useful corollary. He went on to mention instances of discographies which in his opinion met varying standards of excellence.

Rolf Schuursma is concerned with the field of oral recordings. His archive consists of mainly Dutch

Radio originated recordings, backed up by a smaller selection of commercially issued recordings. These

are in a variety of formats from glass and aluminium discs to tape and the bulk are unpublished. He

explained cataloguing procedures in the Utrecht archives. Major entry points were: a) Speakers: 1) those clearly identifiable, 2) unidentifiable, but cross-referenced to a specific event; b) Locale; c)

Recording date (of speech or event - not to be confused with radio transmission date); d) Radio

Station (originating recording); e) Duration; f) Identification number (also used as storage number); g) Technical data (Mono, stereo etc etc); h) Written sources (References to these where such exist); i)

Summary of content. James Creighton agreed in principle with the points made by the previous speakers, and stressed

the need for immediacy and expediency in gathering the various strands together to find a workable format for future discographies. It was important to note that the economics of publishing frequently dictated the eventual format and content of a discography put out in book-form. He noted, from his own experience, difficulties on the following points:

1) Catalogue numbers which gave no indication of instances where a different ,take' had been

substituted at some stage in the manufacturing process. 2) Re-Issues (on LP) where again the identification of a ,78' take, either published or unpublished

was difficult to determine. He thought that useful addenda to a discography could include the following: a) indications as to scoring of a piece of music (original or adapted), b) identification of cadenzas,

c) manual or automatic couplings, d) international numbers. There would always be the problem of access to old catalogues and other important sources of

information. He felt that the days of the individual discographer were numbered, and that future

projects would need to be handled with the full resources of institutions. Gerald Gibson felt that from the foregoing a useful consensus could be compiled. He proposed a

list of prerequisites, allowing that there would be disagreement on the order of presentation, but the

meeting should bear in mind that computer technology would enable us to retrieve information in any desired order either whole or in part. He considered that the following headings were common to both

published and unpublished recordings:

1) Author / Composer 2) Title

3) Sub-Title

4) Performer (including back-up and accompanying performers, even if these are only „with

piano"). 5) Performer's function

Other information relevant to published material:

1) Place of publication 2) Name of publisher 3) Issue number - an overall heading to encompass matrix numbers, take numbers, tape-to-disc

transfer nos., etc.

4) Date of publication 5) Place and date of recording 6) Physical description 7) Series statement

8) Extra information (edition recorded, availability of liner notes, etc.)

This content downloaded from 185.2.32.96 on Sat, 14 Jun 2014 19:09:39 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

IAML Annual Conference in Montreal 79

Other information relevant to unpublished recordings:

1) Place and date of recording 2) Events recorded

3) Physical description 4) Source and/or availability of recording (including control numbers) 5) Extra information: name of recordist, edition used, equipment used, etc.

In the discussion that followed, Richard Spottswood mentioned the problems of unpublished commercial and non-commercial recordings that later became both published and commercial. David Hall referred to the difficulties encountered with LP matrix numbers, which were nowhere as relevant and informative as those of the 78s. With the latter, these remained constant, but with LPs the matrix number could be changed each time the recording was re-issued or released internationally. With tape to disc transfer, the sequential order of recording was no longer apparent. Paul Jackson followed up this point by noting that many individual tapes could go into the making of a final master tape. The Chairman concluded that the meeting had been stimulating and informative, and that matters arising in the following session on the cataloguing of 78rpm records would well be relevant to what had been said in the last couple of hours.

Derek Lewis, BBC, London

b) The Co-operative Cataloguing of 78 rpm Records as a Step Towards a ,Répertoire International des Sources Enregistrées'

Qiairman: Donald Leavitt (Library of Congress) Panel: Richard Warren (Yale University)

Garrett Bowles (Stanford University) Lenore Maruyama (Library of Congress)

Richard Warren, who would be closely involved in the project, spoke of the many advantages to be gained, particularly with regard to the saving of time and effort by the non-duplication of work at

present carried out by many different archives, and a hopefully greater efficiency and standardisation in cataloguing. The proposed project initially would limit itself to cataloguing 78 rpm records of classical music and the spoken word, spreading the work-load among the various participatory ar chives. There would be agreement with Anglo-American cataloguing rules, Library of Congress prac tice, and the MARC format and system. Information would be stored in a computer, with the various archives having attachments to the data-base by terminal. The first concern was to establish the extent of items to be catalogued, leading to a trial process, thus enabling total cost to be determined.

Gerald Gibson (Library of Congress) noted that Yale cataloguing practice was frequently more

comprehensive than called for by the Anglo-American rules, and Gordon Stevenson that the same rule" were not valid for all sound-recordings. Donald Leavitt said that if the project were launched it was

always capable of later development. The general feeling was that the Anglo-American rules were too

narrowly defined to suit all recordings. Other points raised included the omission of any popular or jazz material, and whether the

selection of what was primarily a European derived selection of music was the right priority for an American Library-based project. Gerald Gibson was eager that the meeting should decide what were the important entry points to be followed in the scheme. Harold Spivacke reminded the meeting that the proposal for an international inventory had originally been suggested by RISM many years back. The main aim of any such project must be to identify and locate a recording quickly.

Richard Warren reminded the meeting that the scheme under discussion was a pilot one, and there was support from others to get the project moving and correct mistakes as it developed. Donald Leavitt regretted that more European colleagues were not present as it would have been interesting to

This content downloaded from 185.2.32.96 on Sat, 14 Jun 2014 19:09:39 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

80 IAML Annual Conference in Montreal

have their views on computer application. He introduced Miss Lenore Maruyama who would describe the MARC format and its application. Miss Maruyama described what the MARC record contained, how it could be manipulated. She summarised the definitions of terminology and how the MARC format could be adapted to the different needs of various libraries. A great range of information could be contained, and the system was designed to be flexible. Theoretically the amount of information that could be introduced was unlimited, but retrieval could be as selective as required.

Asked how advanced the system was in practice, Miss Maruyama replied that it had been in

operation since 1969, concentrating on book-material. As far as music was concerned, the catalogue at the Library of Congress would begin converting to machine-readable form in March 1977. Several

languages other than English using the Roman alphabet were now involved and the question of

introducing Cyrillic and other alphabets was under active consideration.

Replying to other questions Miss Maruyama noted that a little more manipulation in sorting out the various elements preparatory to feeding the machine before a satisfactory direct print-out would be possible, also that some adjustments would be necessary to encompass recordings.

Introducing Garrett Bowles, Donald Leavitt noted that he was an acknowledged computer expert, and he hoped he would throw some interesting new thoughts into the discussion, besides summarising the position up to now. Mr. Bowles emphasised the advantages to be gained from a centralised and standardised cataloguing data-base. In view of the enormous expense involved in cataloguing the

output of new record releases, a system whereby a recording was catalogued once only would repre sent a considerable saving to libraries. The eventual production of a MARC tape would be a logical end-product and presumably the Library of Congress would reserve editorial rights, and be the centre of responsibility.

Michael Keller (Cornell University) regretted that the MLA and other related bodies had not

previously been consulted on this project. Other points raised from the floor noted that many institu tions did not have archival policies, and would probably not need information on the scale proposed for this project. Neither would they be in a position to supply information in any great depth to the scheme. Nevertheless it was strongly felt that the aim should be for the utmost in information, regardless of differing needs of individuals and institutions. The meeting concluded with expressions of

goodwill to those undertaking the pilot scheme, wishing them every success. Derek Lewis, BBC, London

RESEARCH LIBRARIES COMMISSION

The Commission met on Monday morning, 18 August, with the exceptional attendance of just under 100 persons. The session was also unusual in the hearty response offered by those present to my (by now customary) request for help in the revision of the three Directory volumes published between 1967 and 1972. This work is particularly important for the relatively brief first volume (Canada and U. S.), of which only a small number of copies remains in stock. Revision of this part must therefore be undertaken in preparation for the new edition to which Bärenreiter (which has recently taken over the remaining copies, as well as future publication plans) has already in principle agreed. A fourth volume, prepared by James Siddons on Japanese music collections, is awaiting my final revision; production is hoped to start before the end of this year.

The possibility of establishing an inventory of microfilm holdings was the next topic of discussion. As a first step a committee was formed, consisting of Michael Keller (Cornell University at Ithaca), Richard Andrewes (Pendlebury Library at Cambridge), and Siegrun Folter (University of Illinois at Urbana). The group will attempt to organize a country-by-country survey of activities and publications dealing with microfilm inventories, whether on a local or national level. They will also prepare a checklist of important lost manuscripts and try to establish a plan for locating microfilm copies of those lost items. Titles and locations could then be published.

Perhaps the most important immediate action of the Commission was the naming of new officers. Due to the heavy work load that will undoubtedly ensue from my acceptance of the editorship of Fontes starting with 1976, I feel obliged to resign from the presidency, a post I have held with great

This content downloaded from 185.2.32.96 on Sat, 14 Jun 2014 19:09:39 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions