Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh's Explore Your Library: Music Collection

Yesterday evening I participated in one of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh's Explore Your Library collection tours. I received an invitation to the special event highlighting the Oakland branch of the CLP rich and diverse music collection. I invited a classmate of mine from the University of Pittsburgh who is enrolled in the WISE course, Music Librarianship from the University of Illinois, Campaign-Urbana, with me.

The two hour self-guided tours and presentations highlighted various aspects of CLP's music collection. Though the Oakland branch of the library is so close to school, I have rarely had a chance to visit the library due to my busy school and internships schedule. It was a real treat to be able to spend two hours exploring the collection and the library building.

Most definitely my favorite highlight were the musical scores and compositions. I have no, and I really do mean zilch, knowledge of music. Scores and sheet music look completely foreign to me and I am absolutely and incredibly tone deaf. The librarians had laid out numerous scores to highlight; some were to operatic pieces we would recognize, rare materials, and others were chosen for their beautiful composition.

George Crumb's Star Child folio composition was strikingly amazing. The score, written in 1977, was unique in it's performance as well as composition. Many of the orchestra assembles were composed in a circular style, visually representing the repetition of the performance.

What I was absolutely amazed with, besides the beautiful composition, was the fact that this over sized folio (over two feet in height!) was available for circulation! A patron can check this piece out, take it on the bus ride home, and then keep it for two weeks! I was baffled! Coming from an academic art library, I am so accustomed to so many of the books being non-circulating. Usually just the size of a work will automatically bump it into non-circulation.

I pressed the librarian on why they choose to circulate such unique materials and was reminded that this folio belongs to a public library collection! A public library's collection operates vastly different from an academic or museum collection; the materials are there for the public to experience and share. I think this is a great and invaluable service to the citizens of Pittsburgh.

I hope that one day (hopefully soon) I can become a steward of such a great and eclectic collection that is truly accessible to everyone.