Mi& education in sociegother larger and older types of libraries. The main difference between
them and other musical collections, such as those of academies of
music, schools or State libraries, which are intended solely for purposes
of study or designed to meet a definite, limited need, is that they make
all the scores or specialized works of theory in their possession avail-
able, on loan, to a wide public. They therefore serve not only profes-
sional musicians, theorists, students and teachers of music, but also the
much wider circle of people who are interested in, and have a taste for
that art, the uninitiated, children and grown-ups. The possibility of
supplying the general public, for a small loan fee, with really good
musical scores and thus acquainting them with the musical treasures
of the past and present, makes a very sound basis for the active practice
of music.
The idea of popular music libraries is of comparatively recent origin.
It is inevitably associated with the name of the Jewish musician, Paul
Marsop, who lived, partly in Munich and partly in Florence, from
1856 to 1925 and who is also known for his works on the history of
civilization. He will always have the credit of having founded the first
public music library. He had vision enough to see that if music educa-
tion is to penetrate into all strata of the population it cannot simply be
left to the public authorities, but requires the active and lively co-
operation of the ordinary people. With this idea in mind, Paul Marsop
most altruistically placed his own collection of music at the disposal of
the public in the form of a loan and called it the Munich Popular Music
Library. This was the beginning of the first popular music library,
which was established in 1902, with an initial stock of nearly two
thousand items. In fulfilment of his own ideas on education, Paul
Marsop thus founded an institution which he equipped and looked
after himself. This contribution to a high cultural ideal subsequently
led to the establishment of the popular music libraries of Paderborn,
Cologne, Mulheim, Krefeld, Essen, Dusseldorf, Gelsenkirchen and
Hagen in Germany, Vienna in Austria, and a large number of institutes
in other countries. The model institution founded by Paul Marsop was
handed over to the municipality of Munich in 1907 and finally, in 1926,
was placed in the charge of the Munich Municipal Library. In view of
the number and importance of the purposes it seeks to serve, this
institution with a total collection of 80,000 items and 3,000 registered
users now holds a leading place among such establishments. It owes
the progress it has made not only to its founder, Paul Marsop, but
also to the far-sighted director of the Munich Municipal Library, Pro-
fessor Hans Ludwig Held, who, as honorary president of the German