dh-ic education in societyaddition to the classes in the teaching of instrumental music, there have
been formed brass bands and orchestras which perform very creditably
indeed.
Altogether, it is not suggested that the teaching of music in our
Borstal institutions and prisons in England and Wales has effected any
radical transformation in the lives of large numbers of inmates and
prisoners, but there is no question that the stimulation of their higher
susceptibilities by the opportunity of listening to and trying to make
good music has an effect, not only on their emotional lives but also
in humanizing and civilizing their characters. Even if some of them
do (as, alas, is the case) return to prison, there is no question that they
are the better for having been afforded this opportunity of coming
under the influence of good music. Prison governors have reported
that even the disciplinary control of their establishments has been made
easier because of the civilizing influences of the study of the arts in our
prisons; and there are cases where, through the influence of good
music, men and women, and boys and girls, who otherwise might have
wasted their lives in crime, have been enabled to live better lives in
a free and democratic society. As our motif for this work we feel there
could be no more effective interpretation in music itself than the glori-
ous opening bars of the Fifth Symphony of Beethoven.
THE GREAT
PUBLIC MUSIC LIBRARIES
by
Vladimir P~DOROV,
Secretary-General, International Association of Music Libraries, FranceAlthough the primary purpose of a popular music library is non-profes-
sional music education in every form, this is only one of the possible
aims of the music library of a university or academy of music.
Oflicially the great public music libraries are no longer concerned
with education. They represent above all an important national reposi-