MLA NCC NEWSLETTER

Music Library Association
Northern California Chapter
Vol. 11, no. 2 (Spring 1997)


Kevin Freeman Travel Grants Awarded for the First Time

Judy Tsou

Thanks to the hard work and support of the members of the Northern California chapter, the first Kevin Freeman Travel Grants were awarded for the first time this year. Two current and one prospective library school students received travel support as well as free conference registration to attend the Music Library Association Annual Meeting held in New Orleans in late January. They are: Kristina Shanton (University of Illinois), Susannah Cleveland (University of North Texas), and Edward Eanes (Louisiana State University).

Kristina Shanton worked as a library assistant at the Art and Music Library at Pennsylvania State University, where she received a bachelor's and two master's degrees in music, flute performance, and music history/theory. She is currently attending library school at the University of Illinois (Champaign-Urbana) with a specialization in Music librarianship.

Susannah Cleveland worked as a student library assistant at Baylor University where she received her bachelor's degree in music. She is currently working on master's degrees in library science and musicology as well as working full-time as a library assistant at the University of North Texas Music Library. She plans to graduate with both master's degrees at the end of 1997.

Edward Eanes holds a doctoral degree in musicology from Louisiana State University where he also received a master's degree in violin performance. His bachelor's degree, also in violin performance, was from Furman University. He is currently a library associate of music resources at Louisiana State University, where he will be attending library school beginning fall term 1997. Ed Eanes was a member of the Local Arrangement Committee for the New Orleans meeting.

The recipients, being first-time attendees of the meeting, were assigned mentors and were encouraged to attend orientation meetings. Their collective reaction to the conference was a positive one, with surprise and gratitude for the helpful and nurturing experience.

Please see the Freeman Travel Grant application information elsewhere in this newsletter if you are interested. If you have questions, please do not hesitate to contact any of the committee members: Judy Tsou (University of California, Berkeley), Chair, Mimi Tashiro (Stanford University), and Don L. Roberts (Northwestern University).

Spring Meeting - April 4, 1997

The Spring meeting of the Northern California chapter of MLA will be held on Friday, April 4, in the de Bellis Collection, located on the 6th Floor of the J. Paul Leonard Library at San Francisco State.

This date coincides with a visit by the Italian guitarist Maurizio Pagliarini who will be give a concert in the de Bellis Collection in the early afternoon that day. Pagliarini teaches classical guitar in the music school in Padua and directs the Ensemble of Contemporary Music "Avanguardiaottanta". He is currently recording the complete works for guitar by Villa-Lobos and has also recorded "From Bach to Pink Floyd". Pagliarini will be performing works by Sor, Legnani, Tarrega, Albeniz, Dyens, Walton and Castelnuovo- Tedesco.

Minutes of the Business Meeting: October 11, 1996

Chair Judy Clarence opened the business meeting by asking all to introduce themselves. She distributed a copy of the minutes of the May 3, 1996, business meeting. Secretary- Treasurer Patricia Elliott reported on switching the chapter's bank account to a non-profit account at Cupertino National Bank, which does not charge service fees. The account balance stood at $980. She also distributed a list of potential new chapter members who recently joined the national organization.

MLA National Board Meeting Report:

Mimi Tashiro reported on the travel arrangements, pre-conference workshops, local arrangements, and other plans for the national meeting in New Orleans in February 1997. Future meetings will be held in Boston (1998), Los Angeles (1999), and Louisville (2000). Diane Parr Walker is the new president-elect, and she plans to attend several chapter meetings in the coming year.

Freeman Travel Fund:

Judy Tsou, Don Roberts, and Mimi Tashiro comprise the Freeman Travel Fund Committee. This year, three students received travel grants totaling $1,500 to attend the national meeting in New Orleans. International Association of Music Libraries:

John Roberts reported on plans for an IAML meeting to be held in the Bay Area (probably San Francisco) in 2003. He encouraged chapter members to become involved in the planning process and to consider joining IAML. The remaining meetings in this century will be held in Geneva (1997), Spain (1998), New Zealand (1999), and London (2000). Contact John Roberts at jroberts@library.berkeley.edu or at (510) 642-2428.

Chapter goals and projects:

Judy Clarence reminded the chapter to be thinking about plans for a joint meeting with the Southern California Chapter. The chapter also discussed creation of a web page, and Jason Gibbs and Michael Colby offered to investigate hosting the page at their institutions. The chapter web page would link to web pages describing music resources at members' institutions. Jason will collect existing web page addresses and distribute the list to chapter members.

Future chapter meetings:

The group discussed the need to chapter meetings to be more substantive to justify time off work. Suggestions for programs included working with faculty on research projects, outsourcing cataloging, a working session to compile a thematic guide to film music, and talks by music critics.

The meeting concluded with the usual round robin and thanks to Jason Gibbs for hosting the chapter at the new San Francisco Public Library.

Patricia Elliott
Secretary-Treasurer

Beads, King Cakes, Doubloons and Jazz: MLA in New Orleans

Judy Clarence

The "Krew of MLA" put on a delightful conference in New Orleans at the end of January, beginning of February this year. The last two days coincided with the first two days of Mardi Gras--the first time I've been in New Orleans during these festivities. And fortunately there were moments during the days and evenings to run out and watch the parades (their route ran right past the Hotel Inter-Continental, the conference site). We caught a few strings of brightly-colored beads and doubloons which were among the "throws" tossed into the crowds by the people riding on the floats. The evening parades were the flashiest, each brightly-lit float preceded by torch-bearers and marching bands.

Yet we were there for a purpose, and that purpose was the Music Library Association conference. And, fortunately, the enticements of the conference were ample to keep us focused on our purpose most of the time.

Some highlights for me:

With great difficulty (balancing them on our knees on the plane trip home) we brought back King Cakes to colleagues and family. King Cakes are Mardi Gras concoctions-- large, brightly-colored, sugary coffee-cake rings in which a little plastic "baby" is hidden. Whoever, while eating the cake, gets the baby has to provide the King Cake at the next gathering. At my house, I'm the one who "got the baby"--which must mean I'll be able to return to New Orleans one of these days. Soon, I hope!

Thanks to the "MLA Krewe" for a wonderful conference.

Kevin Freeman Travel Grant

Applications are now being accepted for the Kevin Freeman Travel Grant which was established in 1994 and was awarded for the first time in 1997. The grant is intended to support travel and hotel expenses (* 1) to attend the Music Library Association annual meeting. Grant(s) include the conference registration fee and a cash award up to $750, subject to approval of the 1997-98 budget by the MLA Board. Recipient(s) will be notified by October 15 and announced at the MLA annual meeting in Boston, February 11-14, 1998.

The applicant must be a member of the Music Library Association and either be in the first three years of his / her professional career, a graduate library school student (*2) aspiring to become a music librarian, or a recent graduate (within one year of degree) of a graduate program in librarianship who is seeking a professional position as a music librarian. The applicant must not have attended a MLA annual meeting before.

Applicants must submit three copies of the following by July 15, 1997:

Mail application and supporting materials to:

Judy Tsou, Chair
Kevin Freeman Travel Grant Committee
Music Library
240 Morrison Hall
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720-6000

The Kevin Freeman Travel Grant Committee members are Judy Tsou (chair), Don L. Roberts, and Mimi Tashiro.

Please feel free to contact the chair via email or phone: (510) 643-6197 if you have any questions.

(*1) The cash portion of the grant will cover travel and double-occupancy room rate only.

(*2) The applicant must be a library school student by the time of the conference (February 1998).

News of Members

Ray Reeder attended the recent MLA meetings in New Orleans as a representative for Fallen Leaf Press. Although he misses the Bay Area, he is enjoying his retirement in Albuquerque. A choir he sings with toured England last year. He has also taken up handbell ringing.

Mary Ashe went around the world last year, attending IFLA in Beijing and IAML in Perugia, Italy. She also visited Tibet where she found the high altitude not too difficult to adapt to. She has been volunteering her time at a soup kitchen, the Martin de Porres House of Hospitality, a facility supported by Catholic workers.

Notes from the Newsletter editor:

At the MLA national meeting in New Orleans we newsletter editors were feted with a Thursday morning breakfast to 'talk shop.' A major topic of discussion was the number of chapters who have placed their newsletters on the internet. While this development was welcomed by all, especially as a way for financially strapped chapters to save on printing and postage expenses and communicate to a wider audience, many of us were wary about abandoning the print newsletter. It was felt that the newsletter provides a means to keep in touch with our members who do not have internet or e-mail access.

The content of the Newsletter under my brief tenure has tended toward material from those members who read my pleas for contributions through e-mail or who I encounter in the immediate Bay Area.

I would like to encourage those of you outside of the Bay Area, or outside the reach of e-mail to please supply me with news of you and your institutions. I will be producing the next issue in September, so send me your news before then.

Northern California Music Libraries and Collections on the Internet

News from the Beethoven Center

Kevin Moll (Ph.D., Stanford University) is the new Research Assistant for the Beethoven Bibliography Database.

The Beethoven Center will be sponsoring three special events this spring:

News from the San Francisco Performing Arts Library & Museum

PALM has recently a collection of over 500 musical theater cast recordings from local collector Bruce Walker. This non-circulating collection of LPs has been available since February 5, 1997.

Using the donations it has received from the public over the years, PALM has also just established a collection of circulating books. Check-out privileges are available to members only, but a new $15 category of membership for Library patrons has been established to accommodate those only wishing to check-out books.

New hours at PALM are Wednesday, 1 pm - 7 pm; Thursday & Friday, 10 am - 4 pm; and Saturday, 12-4 pm.

Bay Area Music on Fallen Leaf Press

As part of their New American Music Series, Fallen Leaf Press has recently published the following works by Bay Area composers:

For information about these works, contact Ann Basart at (510) 848-7805 or at abasart@ix.netcom.com.

Northern California Chapter Members at the MLA annual meetings in New Orleans

CHAPTER OFFICERS

Chair
Judy Clarence
Media/Music Library
Cal State Hayward
Hayward, CA 94542
(510) 885-3780
jclarence@pmail1.csuhayward.edu

Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect
Sally Berlowitz
San Francisco State University
J. Paul Leonard Library
1630 Holloway Ave.
San Francisco, CA 94132

Past Chair
Janet Bochin
2776 W. San Ramon Ave.
Fresno, CA 93711
(209) 278-2158
janetbo@zimmer.csufresno.edu

Secretary/Treasurer
Patricia Elliott
Beethoven Center
San Jose State University
San Jose, CA 95192-0171
(408) 924-4706
elliott@sjsuvm1.sjsu.edu

Newsletter Editor
Jason Gibbs
Art and Music Center
San Francisco Public Library
Civic Center
San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 557-4525
jasong@sfpl.lib.ca.us

This issue of the newsletter has been "webisized" by Michael Colby.
You can send him any comments (compliments are preferred).