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Message from the Chair
Greetings all!
I’m enjoying Colorado’s typical spring weather,
which gyrates playfully between six-inch
snowfalls and sunshine-filled days in the balmy
high 60s. Perhaps these springtime weather
fluxes are a metaphor for the hurried, dynamic
atmosphere of the academic year’s end. We
are busy welcoming admitted students as we
prepare to launch graduates into an uncertain
future. After graduation we begin the main
library’s renovation--anticipating several
months of staff relocation and the “creative”
provision of library services from decentralized
locations. The official opening of the new
library home is scheduled for August 2017.
I was energized by conversation and members’
updates at our traditional chapter dinner at
MLA in Cincinnati. This meeting was a
wonderful time to meet new folks and rekindle
old friendships. The MOUG and MLA meetings
provided a variety of great sessions and the
opportunity to explore fresh ideas and
repurpose current practices. We all had our
conference highlights; I was most excited and
encouraged by the focus on the ARL/MLA
Diversity & Inclusion Initiative and the
opportunity to meet and chat with several
Initiative participants.
Table of Contents
MPMLA 2016………..……………….2
Chapter News…………………………3
MPMLA Travel Grant …….………2, 13
MPMLA Call for Papers……………...13
onventional Title
Opus 67
April 2016
Daryll Stevens, Colorado College
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Steve Luttmann will host our upcoming chapter
meeting, May 20
th
-21
st
, at the University of
Northern Colorado in Greeley, Colorado. Check
out the conference website
, created by Woody
Colahan, for information. Woody and I are
serving as the Program Committee; we’ve
received many compelling proposals, and would
love more! Contact us at
[email protected] with your
additional ideas for panels, poster session,
papers, lightning rounds, performances,
workshops, or?
Elections! Chris Mehrens , our Vice-Chair and
chair of the Membership Committee, will be
posting a request for nominations soon on
MPMLA’s listserv. Please consider nominating
fellow members or yourself to stand for
election. This is a wonderful opportunity to
serve your chapter and work with our
delightful, thoughtful, resourceful, adventurous,
curious, talented, intrepid, wacky, and
dedicated colleagues that are MPMLA.
Finally, I invite you to submit agenda items for
our annual business meeting, to be held
immediately following our Saturday lunch at
Greeley. Your board has already identified
several concerns and welcomes your additions
to the agenda. Please send these to my email
address for inclusion.
And, now….here’s to spring and the renewed
energy it brings!
Daryll Stevens
Chair, MPMLA
Dstevens@coloradocollege.edu
MPMLA 2016
Save the dates! May 20-21
Hosted by Steve Luttmann
University of Northern Colorado
Think about applying for the Mountain Plains
Chapter Travel Grant (details on page 13)
Greeley, Colorado
May 20-21, 2016
Chapter web page:
http://intranet.library.arizona.edu/users/eagleso
n/mpmla/
TRAVEL GRANT APPLICATION
DEADLINE: APRIL 25, 2016
For more information contact:
Daryll Stevens, Chair, MPMLA
389-6126 or 389-6561 fax
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Myrna Layton – Brigham Young
University
As editor of this newsletter, I want to thank all
of you who have submitted news and photos to
share. Your contributions are what make the
newsletter—this would not be a very good
newsletter without your news!
I am happy to continue to serve as the manager
of the listserv. I know it isn’t a perfect system. I
am trying to fix some of the flaws, but it is still
not exactly behaving the way I want it to. I will
continue to investigate. In the meantime,
please bear with it, and continue to share items
of business or information with your peers in
MPMLA.
Earlier this semester, I worked with a colleague,
Brian Champion, the political science librarian,
to sponsor a concert series in February for Black
History month. It was a great experience to
collaborate with faculty and students to present
music by African American composers.
Our own
Janet Bradford and Janice Bunker shared their
mad piano skills. I look forward to the second
annual Black History Month Concert Series in
2017!
Arianne Smith-Piquette – CKUA
Radio Network, Edmonton AB
Here is a recent photo of me! Looking about the
size of a small house – due date is May 29
th
, so
still a ways to go.
In the above photo, notice that my pose is
similar to the one in the historical photo that
was accidentally sent to the whole MPMLA list:
Chapter News
4
We’ve got the original of this photo at CKUA,
and I believe it was also published in the CKUA
book.
Actually, we have an open house/celebration
called Party in the Park each summer, and at
the 2014 event we had a local artist named
Justina Smith come in and create two paintings
based on photos, one of which was this photo!
Painting 1: 1951 photo replica
Painting 2: the CKUA studio
Justina donated the paintings to CKUA for
eventual auction – there’s photos of her
creating the mixed media paintings on our
Facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/CKUARadio/
Janice Bunker – Brigham Young
University
Since our lovely dinner at MLA, nothing much
has happened. Except that on March 14, I
started another cataloging job. I am now the
head cataloger at Provo City Library, where I
work 25 hours a week; and I’m still cataloging
music at BYU the other 15+ hours a week. It’s
been interesting and a little frustrating to deal
with configuring software and permissions and
learning new call number systems and quirks of
processing. But it’s fun to see the cool books
that come through our office. There’s no way to
keep on top of it, especially since the previous
head cataloger was full-time and the library
reduced the position to part-time, but I’m doing
my best! I guess this qualifies me as a double
cataloging nerd
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The rest of my life is pretty stable. By the time
we meet in Greeley, my oldest son and his wife
will be in the throes of spring term at college,
dealing with my grandson, who will be 5
months old. My oldest daughter will be home
from her mission to Kentucky, and my second
daughter will be home from her first year of
college in Italy. My 17-year-old son will have
finished all his AP tests and will hopefully have
decided which colleges he wants to apply to.
My 15-year-old son will be filthy rich from
mowing people’s lawns and in the midst of
drumline training. And my 11-year-old will have
been on at least one scout camping trip and
maybe will have learned to keep his clothes off
his floor, but I’m not holding my breath. And my
husband is planning LEGO robot projects and
magnetic train projects for his 3
rd
graders to do
near the end of school.
Can’t wait to see you all!
Stephen Luttmann - University of
Northern Colorado
This past March once again found Steve
Luttmann spending too much time on the other
side of the world. First he spent a week in the
Bangkok area assisting a delegation
representing the University of Northern
Colorado School of Music in successfully
negotiating memoranda of understanding and
exchange agreements with music programs at
five universities: Chulalongkorn University,
Burapha University, Silpakorn University,
Rangsit University (where a former student of
his is now Dean of the College of Music), and
Mahidol University (by now his old stomping
grounds). Then after a couple of days in the
caves of Vang Vieng (Laos), he went to
Vientiane for the 2016 annual meeting of the
Southeast Asian Directors of Music and,
together with Hiroshi Ando of the Kunitachi
College of Music (Tokyo), delivered a
presentation with the title “Library Preservation
and Access for Everyone.” As of this writing he
is still waking up at 11 in the evening with that
awful feeling he’d overslept…
Katy Levings – Oklahoma Panhandle
State University
There isn’t much library news here, but on the
music front, I have a couple of things. I joined
the Amarillo Wind Ensemble, and we’re playing
a benefit concert April 13
th
for the Amarillo
police department. After that, West Texas
A & M is hosting Bassoon Bash on April 30
th
.
Bassoonists of all levels converge on Canyon,
Texas and play an informal concert. It will be
epic.
Amarillo Wind Ensemble
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David Day – Brigham Young
University
We would like to congratulate David Day and
his beautiful wife, Tomoko Numa. They were
married on Friday, February 12, 2016, in
Payson, Utah.
Tomoko is a harpist from Japan. She and David
met at the World Harp Congress held in July
2014 in Sydney, Australia.
Anita Breckbill – University of
Nebraska-Lincoln
News from the Music Library at the University
of Nebraska-Lincoln. With a new Learning
Commons in the Main Library, we have
organized a pilot half-season of noontime
concerts, called Notes@Noon, taking place in
the new space. Pictured is the Chiara Quartet,
the quartet in residence at UNL, who are kicking
off the concert series in the Commons. Notice
the lack of music stands. This quartet is known
for playing some of their repertoire by heart—
things like Brahms and Bartok.
Chiara Quartet
Beth Fleming –
Oklahoma City
University
Leichter Listening Library at Oklahoma City
University had a new installation of several
shelves. Which, unfortunately, are already
mostly filled.
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A very strong rumor is that the library will be
expanded during the summer of 2017 to
miraculously provide about half again the
footprint of the total current space...but the
librarian has decided not to hold her breath
until this actually happens.
Janet Bradford – Brigham Young
University
We survived our move to level six last fall and
have been busy doing lots of projects. I’m
calling 2016 the year of the LP—actually we
hope to have all our old format recordings
cataloged by January 2017! Here’s a report.
Recordings
LPs: 78,850 items (approx. 5000 left to do)
78 rpm records: 32,173 items (only around 1000
left to do)
NEW project 45 rpm records: 2350 items
cataloged thus far
Sheet Music Collections
Early Sheet Music (pre-1921): 9794 items (94
cataloged since last fall)
Historic Sheet Music (1921-) : 8470 items (70
cataloged since last fall)
Josef Bonime Sheet music collection: 5320
items (3531 cataloged since last fall)
This report is above our “normal cataloging“ of
items new to the library including books, scores
(remember we collect extensively for harp and
viola), CDs, Blu-rays, DVDs and all the other cool
stuff we get.
This summer we hope to move all un-cataloged
backlogs to level 6 and will be counting each
and every item we have yet to catalog. Look
forward to my report of the grand total in the
next newsletter.
Our daughter is home from her mission in Ohio.
She returned on GOOD Friday, 27 March 2016.
She is registered to return to BYU this spring
and we just found out she will be working here
in the library in our receiving department. I’m
so happy!
Daron, Janet and Emily Bradford
Ron Rooth– MacEwan University
The Fitt Collection of Jazz Recordings at
MacEwan University, Edmonton, Aberta
Early in 2015, MacEwan University Library,
along with the Music Department, accepted a
donation of approximately 16,000 jazz
recordings from Michael Fitt, an Edmonton
collector and discographer who has since
retired to the UK. About 75% of the donation is
in vinyl LP or 78rpm format, with a few 16"
radio broadcast discs and other unusual carriers
mixed in.
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Last month, I came across a 78rpm record from
1947 that seemed to be an original issue of
saxophone legend Charlie Parker playing his
tune, “Bird’s Nest.”
Oddly, the matrix number etched into the dead
wax of the record indicated that this was an
‘alternate take’ of that tune.
Several authoritative jazz discographies say that
this alternate take was never issued in 78
format, and never issued at all until 1954, on LP.
(It’s now widely available to listen to on CD re-
issues, which have also found their way to
YouTube).
The alternate take, take ‘B’, of “Bird’s Nest”
isn’t very good: there’s a short drum solo
introduction they decided to try, and the drum
sound is a bit too loud and echoey – the sound
is better on the next take. Worse than the
sound, though, is that Charlie Parker makes a
few noticeable mistakes in the opening melody.
Parker was a perfectionist, and insisted on take
after take of a song until it was suitable for
public release.
Ross Russell, the owner of Dial Records, was
already in Parker’s bad books for releasing an
embarrassing recording of the great
saxophonist playing “Lover Man.” When Parker
left Dial for Savoy Records later that year, Dial
began to receive legal threats to cease the
production of recordings made from that
disastrous “Lover Man” session that saw Parker
check-in to rehab for eight months afterward.
Whether Dial kept the release of the inferior
take of “Bird’s Nest” quiet because of the
scandal surrounding “Lover Man” is a matter of
speculation. And whether this particular copy
we have of “Bird’s Nest” is in fact the wonky,
but entirely sober, alternate take has yet to be
tested empirically (a 78 needle cartridge is on
order for the library turntable). But I’ll look
forward to sharing any further developments
with those interested at MP-MLA 2016.
Amy Hunsaker – University of
Nevada (Reno)
Things are happening at the University of
Nevada, Reno!
Amy J. Hunsaker joined the faculty as the Digital
Initiatives Librarian in the fall of 2014. Because
of staff limitations, many librarians at UNR wear
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multiple hats to cover liaison duties. In January,
Amy assumed the role of Subject Librarian for
Music. The University budget has also
traditionally been steered more toward the
sciences. After all, the Mackay School of Mines,
now called the Mackay School of Earth Sciences
and Engineering, has anchored the university
from its earliest beginnings. Although UNR is
known for its jazz program and has a long
musical tradition dating back to the school’s
establishment in 1874, the library collection—
especially the score collection-- has largely been
neglected. Music faculty have had to rely
heavily on their personal collections for
instruction and research in the past.
But no more! Although the library budget for
music is still miniscule, active collection
development is happening! An inventory has
been created, alternative support, including
donations and grants, are actively sought out,
and the LP collection is available for student
and faculty use for the first time in decades (or
for the first time ever). Most importantly, Amy
has worked actively with Music Faculty to
pinpoint weak areas of the score collection and
is slowing building it to prepare for future
expansions of the Music Department (a new
Musical Theater undergraduate degree, and a
DMA program).
Mathewson-IGT Knowledge Center, UNR
Since Amy is also the Digital Initiatives Librarian,
she is also creating a couple of music themed
digital collections, including a digitized vinyl
collection and a collection of downloadable
musical theater sheet music (only accessible to
UNR students because of copyright). Keep your
eyes on Reno—more exciting things are sure to
come!
Sean Luyk– University of Alberta
Announcement from November by Gerald
Beasley, Vice-Provost and Chief Librarian -
“I am very pleased to announce that Sean Luyk,
Music Librarian in the Humanities & Social
Sciences Library, has been awarded an
appointment with tenure by the Library
Evaluation Committee.
Rutherford Library Reading Room at the U of A
Sean is multi-degreed, he has a Bachelor of
Music, a Diploma in Music Performance
(Percussion), and a Master of Arts in Music
Criticism, all from McMaster University and he
obtained a Master of Library and Information
Science from the University of Western Ontario
in 2010. Sean has been the Music Librarian with
the Libraries since 2011, first as a member of
our Academic Library Internship Program and
then on the tenure-track. Throughout this time
he has been involved in numerous collections
projects and is notably proud of the Edmonton
Music Collection (involving the Edmonton music
community), the Walder G. W. Sheet Music
Collection (now available through the multi-
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institutional Sheet Music Consortium) and the
Department of Music Convocation Hall
Recordings Digitization Project (sound
recordings back to 1967). Sean has made
significant contributions to professional
associations, such as the Canadian Association
of Music Libraries, Archives, and
Documentation Centres, the Canadian
Association of Professional Academic Librarians,
the Music Library Association, and its Mountain-
Plains Chapter, and the Music OCLC Users
Group. Closer to home he has also been
President of the Greater Edmonton Library
Association, on the Executive of the Association
of Professional Librarians: University of Alberta,
and involved with the Academic Librarians
Committee. In addition, Sean has
numerous presentations and publications to his
credit. One of Sean's references described his
"apt sense of humor and a characteristic
aplomb"; both are wonderful attributes for a
Music Librarian.”
Congratulations to you from MPMLA, Sean!
Kristi Austin – Idaho State University
In early May of 2015, I enthusiastically
responded to a message that appeared on MLA-
L that bore the subject line, “Looking for a good
home.” A librarian at Yale University had
agreed to help the family of deceased
conductor Haymo Taeuber find a worthy new
home for the music scores he had collected and
used during a long, international career.
By early July, Idaho State University’s Oboler
Library had received over 750 scores, lovingly
wrapped and carefully packed into 17 large
boxes.
Over the course of a long career that spanned
continents, Haymo Taeuber (originally spelled
Täuber) had conducted operas and symphony
orchestras in Graz and Vienna, of the Vienna
Boys Choir, orchestras of Ankara, Turkey,
Teheran, Iran, Calgary (Alberta), and finally,
Monterey (CA). Born in 1908 in Graz, Austria,
he learned to play the violin, piano, and organ,
began collecting and studying music scores at
14, and trained at the Musikakademie in
Vienna, where he began conducting; following
his graduation, he moved to Basel, Switzerland,
to continue his studies with Felix Weingartner.
He worked with the Vienna Boys Choir (Wiener
Sängerknaben) before World War II, and was
instrumental in rebuilding the group after the
war had ended. In fact, building, or rebuilding,
orchestras became one of his hallmarks and
passions. He worked with the Monterey County
Symphony for 17 years, from 1968 to 1985,
including a bicentennial gala at the Carmel
Mission to celebrate the 200
th
“birthday” of
both the mission, and composer Ludwig von
Beethoven. Taeuber passed away in 1995.
The scores we received from the Taeuber family
are a rich and varied treasure trove, including
pocket or study scores, full scores, and vocal
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music; composers represented run the gamut
from Bach to Bartok, Handel to Hovhaness.
During the course of our negotiations with
Maestro Taeuber’s family, we got to know his
daughters Christiane and Barbara, and their
mother Gisela, quite well, so when I was in
Monterey in late October, I arranged to meet
them to thank them personally for the
wonderful gift.
Taeuber’s daughter Barbara, wife Gisela, and Kristi Austin
At that time, Gisela presented me with another
incredible treasure: a group of 5 folders in
which she had painstakingly collected
newspaper clippings and other memorabilia
from Haymo’s career, organized by date and
year. The package is marked, “From the
archives of Haymo Taeuber as presented by his
family. 10/31/2015.”
This archival material
would be a
tremendous resource
for a scholar
interested in the life
of an international
conductor during the
20
th
century. Barbara
and Gisela were very
warm and friendly,
and said again how happy they were that this
collection had found a good home, as the scores
hold great personal value to them; Gisela used
to help him memorize the scores by reading
them while he conducted, checking his
accuracy. Many of these scores have Haymo’s
notes and even newspaper clippings and
cartoons inside them. They told me about the
family get-together in which Barbara,
Christiane’s daughter, and Gisela had carefully
wrapped and boxed up the scores to ship them
to us, giving them a loving send-off.
We are delighted to be the recipient of this
generous gift.
Matthew Stock – University of
Oklahoma
The OU Fine Arts Library has completed its first
season participating in the city wide 2nd Friday
Artwalks. Over 300 people attended six events
and the videos posted to Facebook have been
viewed over 3,900 times.
Highlights can be seen at:
www.facebook.com/OUFineArtsLibrary/videos
Daryll Stevens – Colorado College
Change is afoot at Colorado College!
Like many academic institutions, we too have
been shaken by recent events that appear to
threaten our commitment of promoting
diversity and inclusion on campus. Several
events have tested the natural tension between
intellectual freedom and egalitarian treatment.
College Administration and the Butler Center--
CC’s hub of diversity, inclusion, intercultural
exchange, equity, and empowerment for the
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Colorado College community—are leading us as
we grapple with these issues.
Boy, have we been busy librarianating this past
year! In preparation for the main library’s
renovation the Music Library staff has finished
weeding the M collections at the main library,
moving several items into our collection. Now
it’s time to revisit the interrupted weeding of
our own collection. And…our cataloger’s office
is overflowing with circulating digital technology
equipment, supporting courses taught by our
new music technology professor.
"Digi audio tech materials invade our cataloging office!"
The Music Library and Music Department are
busily repurposing facilities to make creative
use of limited space and growing resources.
Within the next academic year, we expect to
celebrate the installation of a new 5.1 studio
and a remodeled larger sound studio!
The Music Department has redesigned the
music major’s core curriculum to provide the
opportunity for students to more easily pursue
coursework outside of the Western art music
canon. We are awaiting the approval of two
additional minors--in performance and music
education.
And finally, don’t miss this! This fall CC
Professor Ryan Banagale co-chairs “
It’s Still
Rock and Roll to Me”: The Music and Lyrics of
Billy Joel—A Public Musicology Conference at
Colorado College. Dates are October 7-8, 2016.
Humor from Buzzfeed:
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MPMLA Call for Papers
Conference: Mountain-Plains Music Library
Association (MPMLA) annual chapter meeting
Dates: May 20-21, 2016
Place: Greeley, Colorado
Submission Deadline: April 20, 2015
A reminder that the MPMLA Program
Committee is now accepting proposals for oral
presentations. You also may consider non-
traditional submissions (e.g. ideas for panels,
lightening rounds, workshops, performances,
etc.). We welcome proposals for a Friday poster
session. MPMLA has not had a poster session in
the past. Please feel free to submit your ideas
for a poster or for any other type of
presentation / activity you would be interested
in offering.
Student proposals are welcome, with the
sponsorship of a faculty member.
Send your proposal, (with a short bio suitable
for the session chair to use to introduce you to
the audience) to Daryll Stevens
DStevens@ColoradoCollege.edu
and/or Woody
Colahan [email protected]
The Conference Website is at:
https://sites.google.com/site/mpmla2016/hom
e
MPMLA TRAVEL GRANT
Chapter Meeting, University of Northern
Colorado, Greeley, Colorado May 20-21, 2016
TRAVEL GRANT APPLICATION DEADLINE:
APRIL 25th, 2016
Eligibility: The scholarship provides monetary
support for attendance at chapter
meetings. The applicant must be a chapter
member in good standing or agree to join the
chapter upon receiving the award. Preference
will be given to first-time attendees who are
music librarians or library school students in the
Mountain Plains area: Arizona, Colorado,
Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada,
New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South
Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming--and the Canadian
province of Alberta. Preference will also be
given to those who are presenting at the
meeting and to librarians from the Mountain
Plains area in their first five years of
employment in a music library.
Applications directly from individuals and
nominations from chapter members are
encouraged.
Date of application:
Name of applicant:
Applicant’s email address:
Name of library school, employing library, or
other affiliation:
Degree date or no. of years in position:
Name of nominating chapter member, if
applicable:
Please describe the applicant’s achievements
and interests in music librarianship (up to 200
words). Note previous MLA or MPMLA
meetings attended, if applicable, and whether
or not the applicant will be presenting at the
MPMLA annual meeting. The applicant should
also submit a brief budget for travel and
lodging.
Please submit application by e-mail or U.S. mail
to: Daryll Stevens, Chair, MPMLA
719 389-6126
