Propsed Amendment to MLA/SCC Bylaws

A. A minimum of two Chapter meetings shall be held each year, normally in the spring and in the fall. The time and place will be determined by Executive Board in consultation with the Program Committee.

B. There shall be a business meeting in the spring of each year. Newly elected officers shall be announced at the spring meeting.

A. A minimum of one Chapter meeting shall be held each year, normally in the fall. The time and place will be determined by the Executive Board in consultation with the Program Committee.

B. There shall be a business meeting in the fall of each year.

MLA/SCC Meeting, May 19, 2000

The look and sound of jazz (Speakers: Bette Cox and Ray Avery)

Bette Cox spoke about her book Central Avenue--Its rise and fall, 1890-c. 1955 (Los Angeles : BEEM Publications, 1996), weaving together the stories of many black musicians and music educators of the time to form a varied and complex picture of Los Angeles musical life during the first half of the century. As part of her presentation, Ms. Cox showed a video produced by the BEEM Foundation for the Advancement of Music, which included interviews with several jazz musicians who are now deceased. The reminiscences of the musicians and the content of the presentation served to bring the musical culture into sharp relief, and reminded me that this area has strong musical traditions that I know very little about.

The second portion of the morning's program was given to Ray Avery, a jazz photographer who regaled us with stories of his search for jazz records while on his tour of duty during WWII, and also of his work as a jazz music retailer in 1950's Los Angeles. His connections with the music industry and the jazz scene afforded him many opportunities to photograph musicians at work in clubs and studios. What began as a hobby took on more significance over time, and today he has many album covers to his credit, as well as a recent book of his photographs (Stars of jazz. Copenhagen : JazzMedia ApS, 1998). Like Ms. Cox, Mr. Avery was fortunate in that what began as an avocation became a true vocation and an opportunity to share some of his musical knowledge and experiences.

Jazz on the air: KLON (Speakers: James Janisse and Helen Borgers)

The afternoon speakers also had serendipitous experiences concerning music and their careers. Both James Janisse and Helen Borgers came to KLON after pursuing other avenues, only to find that jazz radio was an ideal environment for them. Mr. Janisse told us how he came to be at KLON, and some of his experiences at the radio station, including his method of programming shows. He differentiates songs by genre and tempo, usually incorporating around six genres per show.

Helen Borgers spoke about her experiences with jazz, and how they led her from acting to radio. One of the most interesting things she mentioned was that way back when, the station used to borrow from her own personal library when creating their playlists. It seems only right that she should work there now, adding music and personality to the everyday experience.

Taken together, the morning and afternoon programs traced aspects of jazz in Los Angeles from the past to the present, underscoring the notions of regional culture and tradition, and helping to foster an awareness (at least for me) of what is out there to be documented and/or preserved. Is such preservation a library's work? If so, how can it best be done?

Rhonelle Runner, Occidental College

From the Chair: MLA/SCC Needs You!

What's Up?

Eunice Schroeder (UC-Santa Barbara) reports: On 3 July 2000 the Arts Library at UC-Santa Barbara welcomed Susan Moon as its new Head. Susan comes to Santa Barbara from the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, Missouri, where she was Head Librarian of the Spencer Art Reference Library from 1992. Susan is no stranger to California. Previously, she served as associate librarian at the Getty Conservation Institute, where she directed the Conservation Institute Library. She has also worked at the Getty Center for the History of Arts and the Humanities and the Getty Museum of Art. The Arts Library at UCSB holds the UCSB library's art and music collections and is served by a staff of eleven librarians and paraprofessionals.

The Cycle of Life in MLA/SCC

NEW MEMBERS

Caroline Bordinaro: Caroline Bordinaro was appointed Music/Sports Bibliographer at Pasadena City College Shatford Library. Caroline is a freelance cellist and plays with several orchestras and chamber ensembles in the area. She is an active member of MLA, CARL, SCOUG and the Society for American Baseball Research. She was most recently Business Information Resources Specialist in the Crocker Library at USC.

Kevin McLaughlin: On July 1st Kevin McLaughlin officially began his duties as Performing Arts Librarian at CalArts in Valencia. The sun and clear skies have made a positive impact, both on Kevin and his cat Marlene (as in Dietrich), despite having to leave their beloved home town of Seattle, WA. Kevin earned his library degree at the University of Washington and while a student he gained invaluable librarian experience at both Seattle Public Library and the King County Library System. In a former life he suffered the noble but tortured existence of the professional trumpet player in Vienna, Austria and in St. Paul, Minnesota. He has music degrees from Michigan (B.M. '83), Yale (M.M. '85) and Minnesota (D.M.A. '92). In addition to his Performing Arts Librarian duties at CalArts, he serves part-time as Reference Specialist at the Getty Research Institute in Los Angeles.

Eunice Schroeder: Eunice Schroeder joined the MLA Southern California Chapter in 1999 when she became Music Librarian at the University of California at Santa Barbara. Previously, she served as Music Librarian at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin (1992-99) and Summer Reference Intern in the Conservatory Library at Oberlin College (1992); she has also worked in the Music Cataloging Unit and Archive of Recorded Sound at Stanford University and taught music history at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. She received a B.Mus. in piano performance from Valparaiso University, an M.L.S. from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, and a Ph.D. in musicology from Stanford.

Before coming to Southern California, Eunice was active in the MLA Midwest Chapter, serving as member and Chair of the Public Services Committee and contributing to the chapter's Oral History Project and newsletter. She is currently a member of MLA's Subcommittee on Music Facilities, and she has been the book review editor of Notes since 1997. She has published articles and reviews in Musica Disciplina, the Journal of Musicology, Music Reference Services Quarterly, and Notes, and she contributed to the third edition of Basic Music Library (1997). Although the Notes editorship keeps her booked up (pun intended?) evenings and weekends, she enjoys hiking and camping when possible, and, inspired by the beauty of her new state, she is also a budding landscape photographer.

Jeff Schwartz: Since March 2000, I've been a Reference Librarian at the main Santa Monica Public Library. I've also worked at Fresno County Public Library and the Bowling Green State University Music Library/Sound Recordings Archive. My academic background includes coursework at St. John's College, UCLA, UC-Santa Cruz, Bowling Green, and the University of Texas at Austin. I am completing a dissertation in American Studies for BGSU and have published on various subjects related to Cultural Studies, including music. I'm also currently the bassist in the new music ensemble Surrealestate.

Judy Zuidema: My family name is Gamba-Weber. I was born in Appleton, Wisconsin, where my father was a state tax representative and my mother, a nurse. They have provided me with many wonderful childhood memories of baseball and strong family values and morals. My formal schooling was basic, mostly private schools from K-8, then public school from 9-12. I am currently finishing my BA in Liberal Studies with a Concentration of Music at CSULB with hopes to attend UCLA for a graduate degree in Information Science next Fall. My job history includes 21 years of service to CSULB Library and most recently, volunteer work with an accomplished surgeon and writer in the field of women's health. I am married with no children, however I have 11 nieces and nephews from my immediate family of 7 brothers and sisters, and 1 nephew from my best friend who lovingly honors me with the title, "Auntie Judy." My middlelife is blessed with the healing guidance of a living Spiritual Master Teacher, Sri Donato. This is my simple biography.

RETIRING MEMBERS

Joan Anderson (CalArts) remembered by Don Brown (El Camino College):

Please join me in expressing our warmest appreciation for our friend and colleague Joan Anderson, who has spent most of her career as the Music Librarian at California Institute of the Arts. I met Joan Anderson through the MLA/SCC; she has had and continues to have a strong, positive impact on me as a librarian and personal friend.

Joan has hosted our chapter countless times at CalArts as well as at her residence over the more than thirty years here in Southern California; furthermore, her many contributions to our chapter will always be remembered and appreciated.

Blessed with a wonderful sense of humor, deep voice, and distinctive sense of style, Joan has become permanently endeared to us. As she moves to different climes next year, I hope she remembers that she always has a second home here in Southern California.

We'll miss you, Joan. Congratulations on your wonderful career, your fantastic relationship with your students, and the exceptionally precious memories we will always cherish.

Garrett Bowles (UC-San Diego) remembered by Martin A. Silver (Musical Literature):

Ernst Krenek, Marin Marais, and 20th-century music and computer-produced thematic catalogs have only one thing in common--Garrett Bowles. Garrett is passionately interested in all of these disparate subjects and has pursued them industriously during his 36-year career both at Stanford and at UC-San Diego. But that is what happens when you have a man talented as a librarian, composer, teacher, and computer mavin.

Bowles started his career at Stanford as music cataloger and then Assistant Head of the Music Library. He was also exposed to the Stanford Archive of Recorded Sound, which began another aspect of his career: a life-long interest in archives of recorded sound and their management. Garrett was among the early members of ARSC (Association for Recorded Sound Collections); he was active in the development of the Rigler Deutsch index for the Associated Audio Archives and has continued working in the area of recorded sound cataloging, having published the AAA Cataloging rules.

But I know Garrett best in his other life as a musicologist, oenologist, and genealogist. His three passions not necessarily in ranked order. On his many trips to various music library and recorded sound meetings, Garrett is always making side trips to visit dusty-musty courthouses of the U.S., wineries, or libraries. Always in search of another date or sighting of a member of the Bowles, Smith, Vennink or Tillotson families, an interesting wine, or manuscripts of Ernst Krenek or Marin Marais. Garrett's forebears were here quite early, emigrating mainly from England and Holland. And now to the grapes--Drinking our way through California (an unpublished memoir with a supplement on the wines of the Finger Lakes in New York) has been a Silver-Bowles project for some years now--Napa, Sonoma, Mendicino, Temecula, Santa Ynez, and Paso Robles have all been memorable trips. Lately joined by Garrett's significant other, Linda Altes, more trips are planned for the near future. I have been pressing for a return to Amador and Russian River wine areas. Still hard at work on his Marin Marais thematic catalog (partially published on the UCSD web page), he hopes to finish it in the near future. An early interest of Garrett's was the development of computer programs for music notation, and he was an early user of SCORE (pioneered at Stanford Univ.) in the 1960's. His Ph.D. dissertation was produced using it, as is his thematic catalog.

As you can see, Garrett's retirement will not leave him idle, nor will his two children who will both marry in the next six months. Let us hope he will be able to keep contact with his colleagues in the SCC-MLA and make a full recovery from his recent bout of prostate cancer. Our best wishes are with him for a complete and speedy recovery.

John Thornbury (CSU-Los Angeles) writes: "I am completely retired and am doing other things now, such as spending time with my significant other and my two dachshunds, gardening, reading, hiking, and all the other things that make life worth living. All the best to MLA/SCC." [We discovered John's retired state only very recently. John, we wish you all the best, and I'll always remember you as the only MLA/SCC'er who ever made me blush!-Ed.]

IN MEMORIAM

Dr. Jaroslav J. S. Mrácek (1928-1999), Professor of Music at San Diego State University, passed away in his sleep after a lengthy illness on April 27, 1999 in San Diego. Dr. Mrácek, who joined the SDSU faculty in 1965, enjoyed a distinguished career before his retirement in 1991.

An expert in music history and musicology who earned his doctorate at Indiana University under Dr. Willi Apel, Dr. Mrácek's vision and initiative were responsible for bringing two international programs to SDSU: The Smetana Music Centennial Conference of Czech Music in 1984, and the Festival of Canadian Music in 1987. He founded "The Friends of Czechoslovak Music," a group that is still active, and he and the Friends established the Jan Loewenbach Scholarship for music students at SDSU.

In 1984, the Czech ministry of Culture awarded Mrácek the Smetana Medal for his work in helping illuminate and sustain the creative legacy of the composer. He was twice honored as the "Outstanding Professor from the College of Professional Studies at SDSU." Mrácek authored a book and numerous articles, including five for The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. He was a longtime member of the American Musicological Society and the Music Library Association. A colleague described him as very scholarly and cerebral, but at the same time very warm. He will certainly be missed.

Linda Barnhart, UC-San Diego

MLA/SCC Executive Board

Chair: Kristina Shanton, CSU, Long Beach

Vice Chair/Chair Elect: VACANT

Secretary/Treasurer: Nanette Schneir, Santa Monica Public Library

Members-At-Large: Joan Flintoff LoPear, UCLA

Eunice Schroeder, UC-Santa Barbara

Past Chair: Rhonelle Runner, Occidental College