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Innovation in international library programs

The Slovenian Collection at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee

by Peter G. Watson-Boone

hanks to a generous bequest received American, to bequeath funds for the col­ T more than 20 years ago, the Golda Meir lection and performance of the music of Library at the University of Wisconsin, Mil­ . waukee (UWM), has been able to develop an interesting and possibly unique set of ini­ Slovenia tiatives in international library activity cen­ Slovenia, part of the former , gained tered upon the music of Slovenia. its independence in 1991, but it has had its UWM is an ur­ own distinctive ban research uni­ language, culture, versity with more and sense of na­ 24,000 students. tionhood for hun­ The music de­ dreds of years. partment offers Before ever being programs to the part of Yugoslavia, master’s level in it was part of the theory, perfor­ Austro-Hungarian mance, history, Empire. and education It is a nation of and has long had 2 million people, an involvement situated at the with various tra­ head of the ditions of ethnic National & University Library, , Slovenia. , and music. extending north­ As is fairly typical of non-standard col­ east toward and Hungary. The capi­ lecting missions in university libraries, this tal city, Ljubljana, boasts one of the oldest one began through the scholarly interests public symphonic societies in Europe, the of one faculty member. UWM Professor of Academia Philharmonicorum, established in Music Leo Muscatevc, who was Slovenian- 1701, a time w hen most European orchestras born, donated his own materials and per­ were the property of kings, princes, arch­ suaded Mary Ermenc, a local Slovenian- dukes, and others.

A bout the author

Peter G. Watson-Boone is library director at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, e-mail: [email protected]

1090 / C&RL News ■ December 2001 Building the collection Other recent activities To complement the UWM library’s mission Professional visits: The head of the UWM of building a Slovenian music collection, a Music Library has visited Slovenia to ac­ local community group, the Slovenian Arts quaint herself with the people and the Council, works under a related bequest by nation’s music librarianship. In addition, I Mary Ermenc to arrange concerts, perfor­ was able to fully fund a one-month visit mances, and related activities. from the head of the Music Library of the For many years, the library’s sole collecting National and University Library in Ljubljana activity was the acquisition of modern printed to improve UWM Library’s proficiency in scores as they became available in the United cataloging our growing collection of States from the Society of Slovenian Compos­ Slovenian music materials. ers, which has an agent in New York City. Exchange agreements: We have estab­ A radical change came in 1998, when I lished agreements with the National and Uni­ was able to incorporate a visit to Slovenia versity Library in Ljubljana and with two into my trip to Eu­ branches of the rope for the IFLA Slovenian Acad­ conference in emy of Sciences Amsterdam. This and Arts, namely highly fruitful visit the Institute of Mu­ turned out to be sicology and the an excellent ex­ Institute of ample of the cru­ Ethnomusicol-ogy. cial importance of The basis for direct, personal the agreements is contacts in ven­ simple: our tures of this kind. Slovenian partners This exposure to send us their cur­ the Slovenian mu­ rent publications sical community Home of the oldest public symphony society in Europe, and/or library ex­ established a basis the Academia Philharmonicorum, 1701, Ljubljana. change lists, and of personal trust, the UWM Library, opened up several new channels of coopera­ not itself being a regular publisher, obtains tion, made us aware of additional materials and sends North American musicological and we could acquire, and thereby lifted our ethnomusico-logical publications the Slovenian collecting mission to a new, and Slovenians tell us they need. All parties un­ very exciting level. derstand that exact m onetary equality for the We still collect scores via the printed cata­ services received is not possible; the inten­ log of the Society of Slovenian , tion is for each party to receive benefits that but we have expanded our scope to include are generally equal in value. The Golda Meir sound recordings and musicological works, Library has obtained many excellent publi­ contemporary Slovenian art, literature, archi­ cations through these agreements. tecture, culture, history, and geography to National Ethnomusic Archive: A par­ furnish the essential context for those who ticularly exciting part of the initiative is a re­ will use the music materials. lationship with the Institute of I returned from my 1998 visit with more than , whereby copies of the en­ 90 CDs of Slovenian music, most of them un­ tire Slovenian National Ethnomusic Archive available through commercial channels in the scores will be made available to the UWM United States. I chatted with the hotel concierge Library. While touring this archive, housed in about why I was visiting his country; when he an old building of wooden infrastructure, I came to work the next day, he gave me an LP learned that the staff was planning to photo­ record (which I later found to be very rare in copy the entire printed archive for storage in North America) of Slovenian . I am told a different building. I suggested that they that the UWM Slovenian music collection is now make an additional copy for us, at the UWM the largest in North America. Library’s expense, and this was agreed to in

C&RL News ■ December 2001 / 1097 principle. The institute later decided to scan (“Information literacy ...” continued from the archive, which will lead to new and in­ page 1088) teresting opportunities for technical coopera­ that w e fit outside-the-library/inside-the-class- tion between us, and should result in an room time into our schedule. end-product that is much more accessible to Spending time in classrooms, listening in scholars worldwide. on discussions, being aware of the spontane­ Possible student visit: One enterprising ous suggestions/ideas/topics that arise during UWM faculty member with an existing inter­ a class (or meeting) that either students or fac­ est in the choral music of eastern Europe has ulty or both want to pursue gives the librarian responded enthusiastically to publicizing our the opportunity to be there at the moment of Slovenian music materials. She has begun to need. Being able to advertise then and there program the music in local concerts, both on the kinds of resources stu dents and faculty have and off campus, and is planning to take the available to them is far more meaningful than UWM student choristers on a summer trip to instructing them when they don’t perceive an Slovenia in 2002, where they will give con­ immediate need. certs, perhaps with Slovenian students. Beyond advertising our wares, librarians can Slovenia boasts four excellent summer follow-up with e-mail, campus mail, or even music festivals. I was privileged to attend a by delivering a book or two to the office, class­ student concert at one of them, the Brezice room, studio. Over the course of a semester, Early Music Festival 2000, where a most im­ seeds can be planted for future library sessions, pressive student ensemble from Krakow, Po­ individual appointments with students, and land, was performing. class-tailored resource guides. Commission: During the mid-1990s I More and more, I see the pivotal role of would occasionally joke to colleagues that librarians as one of relationship-builder: the our Ermenc fund was sufficiently large enough better you and your patrons know each other, that if the Slovenian music we wanted didn’t the more comfortable you are with each other, exist, we could commission it. A wonderful the better you are able to know their needs moment came when I realized that institu­ and to serve them. ■ tional policy changes at UWM would permit me to do exactly that. The UWM Library has therefore commis­ sioned a piece of music from an accomplished Slovenian and, given a successful outcome, may commission further works. This is another example of how a deepening net­ work of contacts and trust can produce new options. In summary, what was at its inception a very low-key, traditional type of library op­ eration to collect specialized material has been developed into a multifaceted, active, and highly rewarding venture in international li­ brary cooperation with direct links to schol­ arship and learning. The benefits of increased knowledge and awareness of a little-known part of Europe are accruing to UWM students, faculty and staff, including library staff; the local Slovenian-American community in southeast Wisconsin is delighted to find out more about its ethnic homeland; and in Slovenia, the music community now has Milwaukee firmly in its sights as a primary center of interest and activity. ■

1092 / C&RL News ■ December 2001