Fogler Library, University of Maine - Library newsletter for faculty

FOGLER LIBRARY NEWS SERVICE
Publicizing events, collections, acquisitions and services at UMaine's library
-- Wednesday, April 23, 2008 --

SUMMARY
1. Collections
    A. Media Resource Center's Music Recording Collection
2. Resources
    A. Library of Congress Experience and American Memory Project
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1. COLLECTIONS
A. MEDIA RESOURCE CENTER'S MUSIC RECORDING COLLECTION
   Through successive grants from the Lynch Fund and a Bird & Bird Faculty Instruction Grant, the Media Resource Center has been able to acquire many new sound recordings on compact discs. The total recorded music collection now includes 4,700 CDs and 5,000 phonodiscs. The video collection numbers about 400 tapes and 300 DVDs, of which a substantial number are opera performances.
   The good part about coming up to this size concerns the relationship of the collection to the cataloging for them in URSUS. One really great dovetailing library practice that not a lot of people seem to know about is that in the majority of cases we include information about every piece on a recording, in addition to a record for the disc itself. Since these are searchable by keyword, this multiplies the effectiveness of URSUS searches for music.
   For example a Library user recently wanted to explore the motet as a musical form through history. We limited the search to the Orono campus, searched on the keyword "motet*" (the asterisk allows any form of the word to be found), and then limited the results to "Sound Recordings, Music." We found 331 pieces, something one could not have done without this cataloging practice and this size of a collection in which to search. For further information on the Media Resource Center for both music and non-music record material please contact Larry Corbett email larry.corbett@umit.maine.edu or 581-1683.

2. RESOURCES
A. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS EXPERIENCE and AMERICAN MEMORY PROJECT
    The Faculty may be interested to know about two ongoing Library of Congress projects that are making some of their major collections available to scholars without necessitating a trip to Washington, D.C.
   Library of Congress Experience [ http://www.loc.gov/experience/ ] is organized as eight "exhibitions" as if one walked the halls of the L.C. and encountered them successively. Most are interactive, further emulating an in-person visit. Here is a sampling: "Exploring the Early Americas" - The Kislak collection focusing on the early history and cultures of the Americas, including the 1507 Waldseemüller map with the cartographer's 1516 Carta Marina; Thomas Jefferson's Library - the 6,487 books representing Jefferson's original Library and the foundation of the Library of Congress; and "The Library of Congress Bible Collection" - highlighting the Giant Bible of Mainz and the Gutenberg Bible, two of the Library's greatest treasures.
   Users are encouraged to set up a personal account. Registration is quick and simple and there is no cost. One of the benefits is the ability for users to create their own virtual collection of Library objects. (Most of their digital objects are not directly downloadable, but can be stored in, and are quickly accessible via one's personal L.C. website.)
    The Library of Congress and other institutions created the American Memory Project <memory.loc.gov/ammem/index.html> intended to chronicle historical events, people, places, and ideas that shaped the country and to provide a digital record of American history and creativity. The website gives access to written and spoken words, sound recordings, still and moving images, prints, maps, and sheet music. The materials online include 138 collections, ranging from the Ansel Adams Japanese-American Internment photographs, to the Wright Brothers Multiformat collection. This sample of topics covered should suggest the breadth of this online service: Advertising; African American History; American Expansion; Architecture; Cities, Towns; Conservation; Culture; Environment; Folklife; Government;Immigration;Industry; Landscape; Law; Literature; Maps; Military History; Music; Native American History; Performing Arts;Presidents; Religion; Recreation; Sports; Technology; War; and Women's History.
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Distributed by the Fogler Library, The University of Maine, Orono, Maine.
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