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ISSN 1039-3498 | no. 47| October 2000
Legal deposit of printed music surveyed
Printed music published in Australia is an important part of the Librarys collecting. Like other printed materials, music published in Australia is acquired by the Library largely through legal deposit.
The National Library has been attempting for some time to improve its coverage of published Australian music, with some success according to the results of a recent survey.
The survey revealed a healthy increase in the number of music titles being received on deposit at the National Library, and an increase in the number of music publishers with whom the Library maintains contact. Whether this reflects a growth in music publishing in Australia is uncertain, but the figures indicate that in comparison with a number of other countries, music publishing continues to flourish here.
The results of the recent survey are compared with a previous survey carried out in 1996.
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The geographical spread of music publishers highlights the dominance of the most populous cities and States. (Note: the undetermined category results from publications in which the place of publication was not given, and could not easily be determined.)
|
State |
19941996 |
1997June 2000 |
|
Australian Capital Territory |
1 |
7 |
|
New South Wales |
39 |
59 |
|
Northern Territory |
0 |
0 |
|
Queensland |
8 |
13 |
|
South Australia |
8 |
24 |
|
Tasmania |
0 |
4 |
|
Victoria |
21 |
39 |
|
Western Australia |
8 |
10 |
|
Undetermined |
4 |
8 |
Most of the publishers in both surveys were found to be specialist music publishers, though there are a number of examples of predominantly text publishers such as ABC Enterprises, the Joint Board of Christian Education and the Uniting Church Press whose music publications are only part of their total publishing program.
Private individuals publishing music continue to be a feature of the Australian music publishing scene, with a number of them located in regional centres around Australia. The second of the two surveys revealed the emergence of a number of small ethnic publishers beginning to publish music in the language and traditions of their homelands.
Further information on legal deposit, including the legal deposit of music, may be found on the National Library of Australias web site: www.nla.gov.au/services/ldeposit.html or by contacting the Librarys Legal Deposit Unit on (02) 6262 1312 or emailing legaldep@nla.gov.au.
International
Standard Music Numbers
In an attempt to work more closely with music publishers, the National
Library of Australia will shortly commence a service as the Australian
agency for the assignment of International Standard Music Numbers (ISMN).
Although a number of music publishers currently use International Standard
Book Numbers to uniquely identify their titles, the use of ISBNs for sheet
music has always been proscribed by the International ISBN Agency.
International Standard Music Numbers will fulfil the same function as
ISBNs and will be useful, if they are widely adopted, in keeping track of
one segment of publishing in Australia. Establishing the ISMN agency is
seen by the National Library as a vital step in successfully liaising with
music publishers to improve the legal deposit situation at the national
and State levels.
Peter Haddad
Please address any comments and enquiries to The Editor, Gateways: gateways@nla.gov.au