National Library of Australia

Printed Music digitisation - progress so far

Selecting material for digitisation  

General selection criteria for the National Library’s digitisation program can be found in our Collection Digitisation Policy. The Library aims to digitise all Australian printed music in its collection. This includes printed music created by Australians, published in, performed in, or otherwise associated with, Australia.

Progress as of 30 June 2009

Approximately 29% of the National Library’s Australian Printed Music collection in scope for digitisation has been digitised. This amounts to 12 050 items, consisting of 105 475 images.

Examples of Printed Music items already digitised

Future digitisation plans

Selective digitisation of items in the Music collection will continue to be undertaken for inclusion in the Library’s forthcoming Treasures Gallery. Out of copyright printed music will continue to be systematically digitised. The next priorities include:

  • unpublished music scores (approximately 1 000 items, including 500 in the Symphony Australia collection and the Alfred Hill collection)
  • selective digitisation of music up to 1975 from the Manuscript Collection

Printed music which still in copyright may be able to be digitised and made accessible through this website, based on a licence fee or an e-commerce solution. The Library is working towards such an arrangement with agencies representing copyright owners. If this approach is successful, digitisation of the whole collection can be completed by 2020.

More Music

Other online resources

November Curator's Choice

This image was recently identified as the only known vintage print of Roald Amundsen's expedition party honouring the Norwegian flag after arriving at the South Pole. Part of Tasmanian views, Edward Searle's album of photographs of Australia, Antarctica and the Pacific, 1911-1915.