Music Library Association

The Music Library Association (MLA) of the United States is the main professional organization for music libraries and librarians (including those whose music materials form only part of their responsibilities and collections). It also serves corporations, institutions, students, composers, scholars and others whose work and interests lie in the music librarianship field. National meetings occur annually.

In 2011, MLA officially merged with the International Association of Music Libraries, Archives and Documentation Centres (IAML). MLA is the US branch of IAML. "The full merger of IAML-US and MLA now allows us to represent the full spectrum of music librarianship in the United States and to participate as partners and equals with the other national branches of IAML."

Purpose

"The purposes of the Association shall be to promote the establishment, growth, and use of music libraries; to encourage the collection of music and musical literature in libraries; to further studies in musical bibliography; to increase efficiency in music library service and administration; and to promote the profession of music librarianship. The Association is a non-stock, non-profit corporation organized and operated exclusively for said purposes. No part of the net earnings of the Association shall inure to the benefit of any individual. No officer, member, or delegate of a member shall, as such, receive compensation except that reasonable compensation may be paid for services of employees of the Association."

Organization

The MLA is composed of five operational elements:
* Administration: officers of the MLA, including the board of directors, special officers, editors, and business office.
* Committees: groups formed to address specific issues in the (standing) categories of development, education, finance, membership, program and publications. Special committees are appointed by the president for administration, awards, bibliographic control, legislation, preservation, public libraries, reference and public service, and resource sharing and collection development. There are also joint committees involved with other institutions, such music organizations and academic institutions.
* Representatives and Liaisons: to external organizations involved in library and information science and/or music.
* Interest Groups: composed of MLA members, assembling during annual meetings. Interest Groups allow members to discuss specific issues not covered by committees.
* Regional Chapters: As stated on the MLA website, these chapters have two functions: "To promote cooperation among music librarians and among libraries within a given region" and "To provide a forum for discussion of library matters, some of which may be more specific or more regional in nature than those on programs at national meetings." Like the MLA, regional chapters have listservs that they use to distribute information to members.

Regional chapters include:

* Atlantic
* California
* Greater New York
* Midwest
* Mountain-Plains
* New England
* New York State- Ontario
* Pacific Northwest
* Southeast
* Texas

Membership

The MLA offers membership on a yearly basis. Costs vary depending on the type of membership (institutional, associate, student, retired, etc.).

Publications

The MLA produces several different publications covering different aspects of the field. Publications include:

* a quarterly newsletter (1969-2023)
* a membership handbook (ceased)
* '' Notes'', Quarterly Journal of the Music Library Association
* Three series:
** Basic Manual Series- "designed to assist the librarian in dealing with various aspects of the organization, administration and use of a music library."
** Index and Bibliography Series- presenting resources for music and music literature, from discographies of popular music to bibliographies of subjects in ethnomusicology.
**Technical Reports and Monographs in Music Librianship- viewing the hands-on aspects of the field, such as cataloging issues, audio equipment, and current research topics.

Services

The MLA website offers a wide range of services and resources to members and non-members alike: employment and education information, awards and grant--s, copyright guidelines, and resources concerning the field. These include the MLA-L (a listserv open to the public), resources generated by the MLA committees and groups, external resources via print and web, and the MLA Shop, which is the organization's official store.

History

The Music Library Association was founded in June 1931 during the American Library Association meetings in New Haven, Connecticut. Its founding was spearheaded by Eva Judd O'Meara (1884–1979) and Carleton Sprague Smith (1905–1994) of the New York Public Library. Among their objectives was to improve cataloging for sheet music and audio recordings.''The Music Library Association: The Founding Generation and Its Work'', by Carol June Bradley, Notes, Second Series, Vol. 37, No. 4 (June 1981), pps. 763-822

Presidents

: 2025 — Bruce Evans, Baylor University
: 2023 — Paula Hickner, University of Kentucky
: 2021 — Liza Vick, University of Pennsylvania
: 2019 — Susannah Cleveland, Bowling Green State University / University of North Texas
:2017 — Mark McKnight, University of North Texas
: 2015 — Michael Rogan, Tufts University
: 2013 — Michael D. Colby, UC Davis
: 2011 — Jerry L. McBride, Stanford University
: 2009 — Ruthann Boles McTyre (born 1954), University of Iowa
: 2007 — Philip R. Vandermeer, PhD, UNC Chapel Hill
: 2005 — Bonna Jean Boettcher, DMA (born 1958), Bowling Green State University / Cornell University
: 2003 — Laura Anne Dankner (born 1945), Loyola University New Orleans
: 2001 — James P. Cassaro (born 1954), University of Pittsburgh
: 1999 — Paula D. Matthews, Princeton
: 1997 — Diane Parr Walker (born 1953), University of Virginia
: 1995 — Jane Ellen Gottlieb (born 1954), Juilliard
: 1993 — Michael Ochs (born 1937), Harvard
: 1991 — Don L. Roberts (born 1938), Northwestern
: 1989 — Susan T. Sommer (1935–2008), New York Public Library
: 1987 — Lenore F. Coral (1939–2005), Cornell
: 1985 — Geraldine Esther Ostrove (born 1938), New England Conservatory
: 1983 — Mary Wallace Davidson (1935–2012), Eastman
: 1981 — Donald William Krummel, PhD (born 1929), University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign
: 1979 — Ruth Taiko Watanabe (1916–2005), Eastman
: 1977 — Dena Julia Epstein ''(née'' Polacheck; born 1916), University of Chicago
: 1975 — Clara Steuermann (1922–1982)
: 1973 — James Worrell Pruett (born 1932), UNC Chapel Hill
: 1971 — William M. McClellan
: 1969 — Walter Gerboth
: 1967 — Frank C. Campbell
: 1966 — Hugh Wiley Hitchcock (1923–2007), Brooklyn College
: 1965 — Irving Lowens
: 1964 — William B. Weichlein
: 1963 — Philip Lieson Miller (1906–1996), New York Public Library
: 1962 — Rita Benton, PhD ''(née'' Rita Beatrice Rosenfeld; 1918–1980), University of Iowa
: 1961 — Vincent Harris Duckles (1913–1985), UC Berkeley
: 1960 — James Burrell Coover (1925–2004), Vassar
: 1958 — Brooks Shepard, Jr. (1922–1990), Yale
: 1956 — Virginia Cunningham, ''(née'' Virginia Adelaide Meeks; 1910–1996), Library of Congress
: 1954 — Charles Warren Fox (1904–1983), Eastman
: 1951 — Harold Spivacke (1904–1977), Library of Congress
: 1950 — Edward Eugene Colby (1912–2006), Stanford
: 1948 — Wilburn Scott Goldthwaite (1901–1981), University of Chicago
: 1946 — H. Dorothy Tilly (1892–1976)
: 1941 — Edward Neighbor Waters (1906–1991), Library of Congress
: 1939 — George Sherman Dickinson (1886–1964)
: 1937 — Carleton Sprague Smith (1905–1994), New York Public Library
: 1935 — William Oliver Strunk
: 1931 — Otto Kinkeldey

External links

International Association of Music Libraries, Archives and Documentation Centres

Music Library Association

Music Library Association Archives
- Special Collections in Performing Arts at the University of Maryland
Malena Kuss files on Carleton Sprague Smith, 1981-2007
Music Division, The New York Public Library.

Notes

{{Authority control
Music libraries
Library-related professional associations
Music organizations based in the United States
Organizations established in 1931
1931 establishments in the United States