Guide to Writing Collection Development Policies for Music (review)

Guide to Writing Collection Development Policies for Music. By Amanda Maple and Jean Morrow. (Music Library Association Technical Reports, 26.) Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow Press, 2001. [xii, 110 p. ISBN 0-8108-4006-5. $40 (cloth); ISBN 0-8108-3865-6 $24.50 (pbk.).]

Music librarians know that collections of music materials are "different" from other library collections and often find it necessary to make their case in discussions with generalists, administrators, and other specialists. This slim volume, because of its focus on elucidating the detail that underlies and circumscribes music collections, will be an asset to all professionals needing to marshal their forces to articulate those distinctions. Whether doing a quick consult or a thorough read, one can quickly derive cogent points from the clear and useful text.

This volume supplements the American Library Association's (ALA) Guide for Written Collection Policy Statements (2d ed. [Chicago: American Library Association, 1996]), a slender fourteen-page outline of basic tenets and principles. Authors Amanda Maple and Jean Morrow have focused and amplified these generic concepts to provide both substance and detail in addressing music collections. Their ninety pages of text draw attention to the wide range of considerations that music librarians must think about in formulating collection policy statements: categories of music, formats, media, gifts, and a myriad of other areas.

The structure of the book is in three parts: a checklist, an outline of a sample policy (with examples), and a complete collection development policy. A glossary, bibliography, and index conclude the volume. This is the first volume published by Scarecrow Press to appear in the long-running series of technical reports, and it is distinguished in its serviceable hardcover edition and handsomely designed paperback edition.

The checklist section provides the theoretical underpinnings for the rest of the book and adheres fairly rigorously to the ALA general guidelines. There is much food for thought contained in this section, with decision points enumerated and brief examples worked into the crisp and concise text. A welcome inclusion is the section on electronic formats. Mention of such publication types as urtext, fake books, performance parts, Denkmäler, orchestral excerpts, Festschriften, and pedagogical materials are useful reminders of the details that music librarians must consider. As strong as this section is, more discussion of the relationship of general music collections to special music collections would have been helpful. How do those unique or archival materials that often tempt the music librarian fit in with the general music collection? What factors should and should not be considered in soliciting or accepting such special gifts? The burgeoning area of interdisciplinary studies, although implicitly addressed, also deserves more specific discussion.

The second section of the book collocates real-life examples from a wide range of extant music collection development policies. The generous inclusion of extensive quotes adds value and context, and will be immensely helpful in terms of both ideas and wording to those preparing to write such a statement for their own collection. The third section is a full-length music collection development policy from 1994 of the Middlebury College Music Library. Though dated, this document is still useful in demonstrating the coherent approach of one music policy. The authors thoughtfully included instructions in the appendix for obtaining copies of current policies from the chair of the Music Library Association's Resource Sharing and Collection Development Committee.

This guide is "intended to assist librarians, both music specialists and generalists, who are responsible for writing collection development policies for music collections in academic, conservatory, and public libraries" (p. ix). The volume provides handy, succinct, and expert assistance, and is highly recommended to those working in the field as a practical and useful tool.