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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 Library’s 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.

Chart of legal deposit of music

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

1994–1996

1997–June 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 Australia’s web site: www.nla.gov.au/services/ldeposit.html or by contacting the Library’s 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

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