In this Issue Newsletter of the Mills Music Library
University of Wisconsin-Madison Edited by Steve Sundell with generous assistance from Geri Laudati, Ryan Sedgwick and David Dies Published twice yearly in the Fall and Spring Semesters Mills Music Library 728 State Street Madison, Wisconsin 53706-1494 (608) 263-1884 music.library.wisc.edu Email Mills Music Library ______________ Web Design by Nicole Saylor |
Director's CornerAlthough we’re cutting it really close this time, the spring edition of the Jongleur is coming in under the wire! One faculty member commented a few years ago that she only had time to read it after classes ended anyway, so we’re delighted to provide you with light reading to make it through juries and finals. The year has been a difficult one for the Music Library but we’ve had a few major accomplishments nonetheless. Among the most exciting are the progress made on several of our digital resources, many of which are grant funded. “Wisconsin Folksong: the Helene Stratman-Thomas Collection” website (link) is nearly ready to go public in multimedia format (that is, including sound files, notations, critical commentary, etc.) and the test site looks wonderful. Our sheet music collections – Wisconsin Sheet Music and Americana Collections had several hundred digitized sheets added to the existing online databases. These are excellent reproductions that can be freely printed and used for performance. The first group of titles chosen for digitizing are early Wisconsin imprints (1850 onwards) and nineteenth-century works of Joseph Webster. Take a look at http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/Americana and http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/WiscSheetMus. Other activities of note included Music Library staff’s participation in the “Future of Folk” conference (see related article); and the completion of the unboxing and final tally of the Ford Porter record collection (68,017 items!). Volunteers Jim Roeber and members of The Retro Swing Band of Madison, completed processing of, and data entry for the Skitch Henderson Collection (see the Jongleur v . 10, no. 2 (Spring 2004)). As if their service to the library were not enough, the Band suggested a Music Library fund-raising event-- a dance, scheduled for Sunday, October 9, 4:00 pm-6:00 pm in Tripp Commons. The Band will entertain with selections from the Henderson collection and others. More information will be forthcoming. In addition to the volunteers, the Music Library relies heavily on our talented student staff for responsibilities ranging from reference assistance to webpage development, and everything in between. Several will be graduating this spring and while we are delighted for them and their achievements, we cannot help feeling a great sense of loss. Congratulations to Brandon McIntosh (theory-composition); David Newman (ethnomusicology); Ryan Ross (musicology); Ryan Sedgwick (horn); Robert Torre (musicology); and Kristin Verikas (musicology), all of whom will be granted appropriate Masters degrees in May. Ellen Jacks (ethnomusicology) also successfully completed requirements for the degree and will be jumping right into work towards the PhD. We wish each of them the best of luck and thank them for their exceptional contributions. We extend to you as well our best wishes for an enjoyable summer. |