Music in educationMusic Libraries Association, still gives active help to music education
through the library.
It was in 1951, at the Congress of Librarians in Munster, that I had
the privilege of founding this association of German popular music
libraries, in which 50 institutions work together on tasks common to
all. The first congress of the association took place in Berlin in 1952.
Our association is affiliated to the International Association of Music
Libraries and maintains friendly contacts with all the countries in
which there are music libraries, particularly England, France, the
Netherlands, Austria and Spain.
Paul Marsop’s ideal of being the friend, counsellor and teacher of
all circles interested in music is still alive in all the popular music
libraries and, indeed, seems likely to acquire a fuller significance in our
own day in the future. Such libraries, which have something to give
to all sections of society, from the simple music-lover to the exacting
scholar, will make a living reality of this ideal of art, as a political and
social factor, which may have a rich and decisive influence on music
education in general.
It must not be thought, however, that the work of popular music
libraries is confined to the lending of books or scores. If reading rooms
are fitted up, where a large number of books or reviews can be con-
sulted on the spot, reference work will be made easier, so that musical
problems can be more thoroughly investigated, even by non-specialists.
At a time when premises and instruments are difficult to obtain, it is
particularly important that arrangements should be made to equip
music rooms where people can practise the piano. There should be a
special room where the public can consult a record library containing
the best recordings of classical and modern music; this would provide
an essential complement to concerts, particularly for students or music-
lovers whose financial means are limited.
The section of our library which is concerned with music education
should include a specialized library where works can be consulted on
the spot. It should have a series of archives, for instance, a collection
of manuscripts containing, where possible, examples of the autographs,
letters and books not only of important musicians but also of regional
or local composers. Regional archives, in which everything relating to
the musical life of the district is carefully collected, might ultimately
provide an interesting body of material bearing witness to a native
artistic culture. Every library should also have a collection of existing
popular songs, which should not only give a complete and adequate
picture of the songs already published but, even more important, carry