Aft& education in societya contribution to make not only to the education of man but to the
peace of a world to which music has been given as a universal language.[ Tramlated from the French J
THE LIBRARIES
OF THE CONSERVATORIES
by
Guy FERCHAULT, Professor, Conservatory of Music, Versailles, FranceThe conservatories represent the official aspect of music teaching in
the various cities. We have felt, therefore, that it would be useful to
consider how these institutions’ own libraries, where they exist, can
contribute towards the education of young people and adults who do
not intend to devote themselves specially to music or who are not in-
cluded among their students.
A rapid general survey will give readers an adequate, if brief, idea of
the conservatories’ present position in this respect.
While various conservatories in Switzerland, Italy and Germany
have their own libraries, the position is not the same in France, where
only 30 per cent of the national and municipal schools have a library
of any real value. Except in a very few cases, these libraries are open
to teachers and students only, not to the general public. However,
some conservatories lend works to the public, either in exceptional and
justifiable cases (e.g. the Rennes Conservatory) or on a long-term basis
(e.g. the Rouen and Strasbourg Conservatories). Home-lending is, as
a rule, limited to teachers, but in certain instances it is extended to a
few privileged persons and students. Microfilms and photocopies do
not seem to be generally used.
In Germany, owing to the tremendous damage suffered during the
war, most of these libraries are being reorganized, and lending is usually
confined to the teachers and students.