Everything Imaginable Can Be Found Here
When you think of libraries do you limit yourself to books, magazines and DVDs? I hope not! There are a lot more things to be discovered in most libraries.
Special collections in libraries include all kinds of objects. in particular, you should be aware that Vinyl record collections are growing in the library market.
I’ve noticed where I live there are a booming number of vinyl record shops have been popping up. In fact, even Barnes and Noble stores have started selling vinyl classics along with other bookstores.
My alumni magazine from the University of Wisconsin – Madison reports this month that the University’s Mill’s Music Library has about 50,000 individual titles of 33 1/3 and 45 rpm records as well as duplicate copies of many of those records. Mills’s Music Library has twice as many old 78 rpm records.
For those of you who are younger, 78 rpm records were mostly classical music, while 33 1/3 and 45 (revolutions per minute) were more for popular music albums and hit parade singles from the last century.
Public libraries often carry CD’s and many still have old vinyl records. The Boston Public Library says it has 200,000 vinyl records in its collection. Other smaller public libraries may carry vinyl too.
Music researchers, music collectors, and fans may want to use these collections and/or donate to them.
I have to ask, could it be possible that music too, like books, will have a new revolution involving self-published vinyl someday? The cost would seem a barrier, but many people still play these records.
Here’s a blog site post by a Canadian record producer about the costs involved in making vinyl records – “Hot Wax: When Does It Make Sense for a Band to Press Vinyl Records?”
Hot Wax: When Does It Make Sense For a Band To Press Vinyl Records?
It would nice if technology in the future could make the recording process a bit more affordable.
Nevertheless, if musicians have built a strong enough audience, this may be one way to get some of their work into libraries.
My point here is that often there are unique kinds of materials we can find in libraries that exist nowhere else.
If that description fits your creative project, please don’t despair. Ask librarians in charge of the music or special collections areas in their library for their ideas of how best to market your work to libraries!
