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New Exhibit Case

Special Event or Display

The Music Library has a new exhibit case!

Midsummer Night’s Dream
Exhibit content- Kyrie Bouressa, UH music student
Exhibit display- Stephanie Lewin-Lane & Kaylie Kahlich, Music Library staff

We are very excited to have a new case to feature items from our collection. The case is located between the Beta Space and Seminar Room doors. Displays will rotate throughout the year and we will be opening up slots for students to try their hand at curating exhibits tied to the performing arts and scholarly research.

The current display is A Midsummer Night’s Dream and is co-curated by our own student worker Kyrie. Please stop by to see the entire exhibit, complete with a fairy garden.

If you are interested in curating a display, please inquire at the front desk in the Music Library for more details.

New Naxos Search Features

Library Resources

Naxos recently made a few changes to their search engine, so if you notice a few differences in your Naxos search results, this could be why.. The new updates include the following:

1. Exact phrase matches are prioritized over partial word matches – i.e.  search for “mozart german dances”. From the old search it could return all albums from Mozart first, then tracks with “German” and/or “Dances”, but not from Mozart, since it searches word per word. In the new search it considers the exact phrase prior to looking for matches of every single word. This behavior reduces the unnecessary results.

2. It searches for all information within the album – Some results may seem irrelevant since the album title does not contain the keywords used. However, if you open the album you can notice that there are information that inside it that matched exactly with the keywords. i.e. I searched for “the arrival of germontt”. This keyword is not found in the title but if you open the album, you can see that it actually has a track title matching the keyword.

3. Commonly searched/accessed albums are prioritized – The search will return all correct matches but the more commonly searched or accessed albums are ranked higher than the others. To trim down the results, it is encouraged to use more specific keywords, or maximize the now refined advanced search.

4. Restricted albums are no longer listed – Albums that are restricted to the user’s country will no longer be listed in the results, thus the reducing the search returns.

5. Searching for word with diacritics is now supported – Users can now search for albums, tracks, persons that are spelled with diacritics using the common English alphabets, thus returning the exact results.

Oxford Music/Grove Online Help

Help!, Library Resources

A new version of Grove/Oxford Music Online was released on December 7, 2017, resulting in some changes to the interface and consequent user issues.

In response, the Music Library Association (MLA) will host a temporary blog list of questions, tips, and updates about the new version. The blog will also accept submissions of new issues and tips through a form located in the post.

Banned Books Week in the Music Library

Special Event or Display

Banned Books Week is September 25-October 1. During that time, come check out our Banned Music exhibit and see music-related items from our library that were banned throughout history. This year, our exhibit focuses on Banned Band Music. Get it?

Our exhibit focuses on 3 examples of censored band music. The first is Max Roach’s jazz band album, We Insist- Freedom Now Suite. Filled with political activism, it was banned in South Africa for its criticism of a government-led massacre. The next work is Paul Hindemith’s concert band piece, Symphony in B Flat. This work was banned by the Nazi regime during its crusade against so-called degenerate art. The third censored work is John Philip Sousa’s The Wets and the Drys. This satirical piece imagines an interaction between 2 groups of tee-totalers and drinkers. A dry county in New Jersey was not amused by Sousa’s plan to perform this piece.

Our exhibit is part of a nationwide event, Banned Books Week, which annually celebrates the freedom to seek and express ideas, even those considered unorthodox or unpopular. For more information, check out http://www.bannedbooksweek.org/.

NEW Music Library Score Policy

Policies and Procedures

display poster steps to skip finesIt is our policy that all library users have access to materials that are complete, UNMARKED, and well-organized. Therefore, in accordance with the UH Libraries Code of Conduct, and as an extension of our Score Clean-Up and Maintenance Project, the Music Library has instituted a fine for each item that is returned to the library with writing and/or markings created by the borrowing patron.

HOW DOES THIS POLICY AFFECT YOU?

  1. BEFORE you bring an item to the circulation desk for check-out, carefully inspect the score and all parts for markings or damage.
    • Alert Music Library Staff to all markings or damage
    • Pre-existing conditions will be noted, and you will not be held responsible for them when you return the item.
  2. For scores returned to the Music Library with markings and/or damage that has NOT been noted by library staff:
    • A fine of $10 will be applied to your account to cover the cost of erasing and repairing the item
    • If the markings and/or damage are irreparable, you will be charged a replacement fee for the item

Modified Music Library Hours for Sept. 5th

Planned Down Time

The UH Music Library is closed due to Hurricane Harvey. We reopen on Tuesday, Sept. 5 from 9am-6pm. We begin regular hours again on Wednesday, Sept. 6.
Thank you for your understanding.

Music Library Beta Space Available for Group Study!

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UH Music Library Beta-Space

What is the Beta-Space Study Room?

The Music Library Beta Space Study Room is located in the Music Library in the Moores School of Music Building on the second floor. The room provides a multi-purpose study space geared towards performing arts students based on the Beta space model. A Beta Space is similar to a Makerspace, but with more emphasis on creativity and inspiration.

The Beta Space Study Room is a flexible learning environment with a large TV screen and speakers, whiteboard, piano keyboard, recording microphone, and creative tools. Students of ALL majors are encouraged to use the Beta Space Study Room!

Beta_Space-web

Groups of 2-8 students may use the room for up to 2 hours. If you would like to make a reservation, please visit our website here.
For more pictures of the Beta Space Study Room, click here.

 

Sustainability in the Music Library- Refinished Study Tables

Library Projects

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In a continuing effort to be green in the Music Library, we have breathed new life back into our beloved study tables by the windows by refinishing all six of them. Want to see how we did it? We thought so! Here’s how:

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Step one: Clean the tables thoroughly with Murphy’s oil soap.

You can see in the picture to the left what a difference just cleaning the tables made.

Step two: Sand the surface to prepare for stain.sanding

The tables are not solid oak, but are sturdy enough to handle a light scrubbing to the surface. Here’s Tim applying a little elbow grease.

Step three: Apply two coats of all-in-one stain and poly finish to each table. The picture on the left is our worst table before the stain and the picture on the right is the same table with stain. What a difference!

beforetable1

For less than $50 and a few hours of time, we were able to extend the life of these very loved study tables. Here is a picture of all of our beautifully refinished tables.

after refinishing

EVENT- Culture Remix: Illegal Art, Copyright, and the Music Industry, April 10th

Special Event or Display
Culture Remix Poster

                                                      Click on picture for larger image

Culture Remix: Illegal Art, Copyright, and the Music Industry

Monday, April 10th from 12 to 2pm

Space City Room, Student Center South

University of Houston, 4455 University Dr, Houston, TX 77204

Join the UH Libraries’ Copyright Team as they explore controversies related to fair use through the film “Freedom of Expression: Resistance and Repression in the Age of Intellectual Property.” Hear about the experience of Houston experimental 80s band Culturcide and chat with our three speakers during a Q&A session.

Speakers

Dan Workman of Houston’s Sugarhill Recording Studios, and former member of Houston-based experimental punk band Culturcide
Michael A. Olivas, William B. Bates Distinguished Chair in Law, UH Law Center (Acting President, UH Downtown) and Rock and Roll Lawyer
Justen S. Barks, Alonso PLLC, Adjunct Professor of Entertainment Law at UH Law Center

Score Clean-up Project

Library Projects, Library Resources

marked score

Have you ever tried to check out a score only to discover that it is covered in another musician’s notes and markings?

It has come to our attention that our score section needs some maintenance!
The scores in the Music Library are among the most important parts of our collection. For this reason, The Music Library is undertaking an ambitious and necessary score clean-up project. We plan to systematically review every score in our collection to ensure that they are legible and long-lasting.

How does this project affect you?

The first way this will affect you is at the circulation desk. Before checking out an item, library staff will quickly glance through the score and parts to check for markings. This will add a few seconds to the check-out process, but will ensure that you are not charged for another patron’s markings.

Additionally, a fine system will be implemented beginning the Fall Semester of 2017.
If a patron returns an item with markings, they may be fined for the cost of removing said markings.

FAQs

What if I need to make notes and performance indications in my score?
We understand the importance and necessity of score markings. However, we ask that you NEVER make indications in a library score. Instead, we encourage you to make a copy of the music using one of our copiers or the digital KIC scanner.

What if the score I want already has markings in it?
If you notice that a score is damaged or has markings, please bring it to the front desk. We can mend or replace the item for you.

Continue to check this blog for updates on the Score Clean-up Project. More info will be coming soon!

 

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