CoTA News at USF Libraries

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

It was on this day in 1731 that Ben Franklin founded the first circulating library, a forerunner to the now ubiquitous free public library. He started it as a way to help settle intellectual arguments among his group of Philadelphia friends, the Junto, a group of civic-minded individuals gathered together to discuss the important issues of their day.

Each of the 50 charter members bought an initial share into the company (40 shillings), which helped fund the buying of books, and then paid a smaller yearly fee (10 shillings) that went to buying more books and maintaining the library. In exchange, the members could borrow any of the books. Donations of books were gladly accepted.

They called their charter the Library Company of Philadelphia, and the next year, Franklin hired America's first librarian, Louis Timothee. At first, the books were stored at the librarian's house, but by the end of the decade, they were moved to the Pennsylvania State House, which is now known as Independence Hall.

Ignaz Pleyel digital collection

University of Iowa Libraries digitizes collection of historic scores:

http://digital.lib.uiowa.edu/pleyel

More than 250 years after his birth, a notable collection of musical scores by French composer and music publisher Ignaz Pleyel (1757-1831) can now be found online.

This collection of nearly 250 early printed and manuscript scores represents in entirety the Rita Benton Music Library's holdings of the work of this single composer. It consists primarily of keyboard and chamber music, including arrangements of large orchestral works. Also included in the collection are songs with keyboard accompaniment and method books providing instruction in certain instruments. Pleyel was a contemporary of more famous composers Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) and Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827); he also apprenticed with Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) early in his career.

Most of the scores were published between 1780 and 1810, and many were issued by Pleyel's own publishing house. These materials provide insight into publishing practices common in late 18th- and early 19th-century Europe, when engraving began replacing both letterpress printing and manuscript copying. Also, increase in travel across borders caused musical styles to become more international and publishers began to print music outside of its country of origin.

The physical collection was assembled by the late Dr. Rita Benton, noted Pleyel scholar and former Head of the Music Library at the University of Iowa. The Music Library was named in her honor in 1980. "The Rita Benton Music Library has provided access to the Pleyel materials to scholars and performers around the world for a number of years," says Ruthann McTyre, Head of the Music Library. "We are proud to offer digital access to the collection. Allowing individuals to have these materials virtually at their fingertips is a fitting way to honor Dr. Benton's devotion to musical scholarship and preservation of this composer's work."

The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music Online

          

The Library has added The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music Online to our collection of music databases. 

The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music Online is the first comprehensive online resource devoted to music research of all the world's peoples. More than 9,000 pages of material, combined with entries by more than 700 expert contributors from all over the world, make this the most complete body of work focused on world music.

Each volume contains an overview of the region, a survey of its musical heritage, traditions and themes; and a description of specific musical genres, practices, and performances. Articles include detailed photographs that show musicians, musical instrument, and the cultural context of dances, rituals, and ceremonies. Other images include drawings, maps, and musical examples for further study. Since its first publication in 1997, The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music has been the pre-eminent reference work for research in ethnomusicology. It has won numerous awards, including the Dartmouth Medal, the New York Public Library Outstanding Reference Book award, and Library Journal's award as one of the 50 Reference Sources for the Millennium. Now the entire set of 10 print volumes is available as a single, integrated online database.

The second release includes the entire set of 10 print volumes (over 9,200 pages) as well as complete indexing for genre, subject, instrument, place, person, ensemble, and cultural group, as well as links to the associated audio examples for each volume.

You can access The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music Online by going to the USF Libraries Catalog and typing Encyclopedia of World Music.

Music Database Updates

 

CONTEMPORARY WORLD MUSIC

Added:  3 new titles from Indiana University Press & Northeastern University Press:
            Ernst von Dohnányi: A Song of Life
            Purcell: A Biography
            Schumann: The Inner Voices of a Musical Genius

CONTEMPORARY WORLD MUSIC

Added:  448 albums (6,447 tracks) from ARC Music, Blue Flame Records, Intersound, Karuna, Triloka,                 Rounder Records, Sheridan Square Records, and Six Degrees Records.
            New albums include Afrobeat, electronic lounge music, rembetika, belly dance, reggae, and dub.

Albums released include:
        Bobi Céspedes: Rezos
        Cinematic: Classic Film Music Remixed
        Cutting Razor - Rare Cuts From The Black Ark Emad Sayyah: Ma Ajmal Beirut-Modern Bellydance               from Lebanon: Hugh Masekela: Hope

Renzo Piano and The Art Institute of Chicago

Renzo Piano Embraces Chicago

By NICOLAI OUROUSSOF

The new Modern Wing of the Art Institute of Chicago is the closest Renzo Piano has come in at least a decade to achieving a near-classical ideal.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/14/arts/design/14muse.html?th&emc=th

Free Trial to Aesthetica Magazine

Keep up to date with the global community of creative arts through Aesthetica Magazine.  All aspects of arts and culture including visual arts, literature, music, theatre and film are covered. Aesthetica is used widely in colleges and universities throughout the UK and Europe as a study aid for students studying arts and humanities.

Click here and enter password aesthetica_issue28_2009

The Avery Index

At the ARLIS/NA conference in Indianapolis, Jim Neal, Columbia University Librarian, announced that effective June 30, the Getty Trust will no longer be supporting the Avery Index. Jim Neal is determined to continue the index under vendor contracts and royalties will also come back to Columbia.
We do not anticipate any problems with the transition and you should expectthe usual up-to-date information from whichever vendor you use.

Thanks to Getty Trust for supporting the Avery Index for 25 years!  We look forward to the next 25 under Columbia!
-Ted Goodman, General Editor, Avery Index to Architectural Periodicals

Getty Will No Longer Produce Bibliography of the History of Art

The incredible Getty indexes and research databases, including the invaluable Bibliography of the History of Art, are threatened.  Here is the url to the story in The New York Times.