Subject Librarian: Rob van der Bliek

Academic Programmes Supported and Description of Current Collection
The collections support an undergraduate programme in performance, composition, theory, music history, and aesthetics and a graduate programme in ethnomusicology/musicology. In addition, there is support for a music education programme offered by Atkinson College, courses in film music and dance music offered in the Film and Dance Departments, and several non-music major courses offered by the Faculty of Arts. The Graduate Programme in Music, which offers an M.A. and Ph.D. in Ethnomusicology/Musicology, emphasizes North American regional music including jazz and urban popular music, native, religious and folk music in rural and urban localities; early twentieth century music; music/cultural theory and analysis, and psychoacoustics.

Description of Current Collection
The music collection consists of music books, scores, and periodicals. In general, these materials cover basic music history, theory and analysis, and aspects of performance. Strengths of the collection include studies of North American indigenous and vernacular styles, such as jazz, blues, country, folk and popular music, and 20th century art music, including marginal new music styles and electroacoustic music. Periodicals reflect both scholarly and ephemeral or popular sources. The score collection is made up of study scores of individual works, collected editions of selected composers, and collections of music representing various genres, such as musical theatre, folk music, and popular music. Every attempt is made to correlate score purchases with sound recording purchases.

Related Collections at York
The collection development policy for the Sound Recordings completes coverage of the music collections. Music reference items are covered by the collection development policy for general reference, in conjunction with this policy.

Languages
The history of western music is represented by mostly English language materials with seminal works in other languages such as French, German and Italian also being acquired. Materials for jazz and ethnomusicology are selectively acquired in all European languages.

Geographical Coverage
Materials are collected regardless of their country of origin.

Chronological Coverage
There are no particular chronological limits in regional studies, jazz and popular music studies, but for the history of Western art music the emphasis is on the 19th and 20th centuries.

Date of Publications
Retrospective purchasing continues in the areas of jazz and ethnomusicology. Otherwise the funds are directed towards current purchases.

Duplication
High-use items, usually required for large undergraduate courses in music, both in the Faculty of Fine Arts and Arts, are bought in duplicate, as are items for which there is likely to be a large demand.

Gifts
Collections of sheet music have been donated to the libraries over the past 25 years. Local composers have been generous in offering the libraries materials from their own libraries including copies of their own works, and while some of the material inevitably duplicates what is already here, such donations are very welcome.

Relegation and Weeding
Weeding is limited to damaged items, as virtually all materials in the collections have some relevance for the foreseeable future.

Types of Materials

• Books and scores — These include history, theory and analysis, biographies, thematic catalogues, discographies, works on musical instruments and instrument collections, but also primary sources such as instruction manuals, works on technique, collected editions of composers. Scores are usually purchased in study format, with some exceptions in the collection of 20th century works.
• Journals — The collection includes journals concerned with musicology, but also popular magazines written for practising musicians and a knowledgeable public, with many of these focused on a single aspect of music e.g. folk music, jazz, the guitar, opera.
• Microform — Music materials in microform acquired for the libraries are generally restricted to periodical runs. While the library owns music scores in microform these are no longer added because of their unsuitability for performance or study.
• Theses and Dissertations — Theses and dissertations in the areas of ethnomusicology and jazz are comprehensively acquired in hard copy.
• Electronic Data Files — Music reference research tools on CD-ROM are being added to the collection.
• Manuscripts and Archives — Existing music manuscripts and archival collections will be augmented in accordance with the aims and objectives of the Music programme and of Archives and Special Collections. Growth will of necessity be through donations.
• Special Collections — The scope of the budget does not permit purchase of rare books, but the Archives and Special Collections does house a selection of rare music materials, usually donated.
• Films and Videos — Films and videos of musical interest, especially music of non-Western cultures and jazz, are acquired by the Film Librarian, depending on the type of performance rights available for any given item.
• Recordings — See Sound Recordings collection policy.

Resources Elsewhere in the Toronto Region
The Edward Johnson Music Library at the University of Toronto has strong collections of books, scores and recordings for western art music and Canadian music, and numerous journals and older books in ethnomusicology that complement the collections at York. The Metropolitan Toronto Reference Library, Arts Department has substantial collections of books and scores in all areas, but the collections are particulary strong in Canadian materials, especially sheet music, vertical files, pictures and concert programmes.

Collecting Levels

Last updated 1994