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Scandinavian music collection accessible worldwide By Deborah Hutterer Augsburg's rare collection of Scandinavian music, containing approximately 1,400 compositions and over 500 recordings, is now accessible online to researchers everywhere. For the past 33 years, the collection has been available only to Augsburg library patrons, cataloged on 3x5 cards. In 1966 Augsburg was given the Scandinavian collection as a donation from the American-Scandinavian Foundation (see story in the Augsburg Now, Spring 1999). Both the library and music staff were interested in making this collection more widely available and invited Professor Dag Schjelderup-Ebbe, a noted musicologist from the University of Oslo, to evaluate the music. 
His determination that the collection has great value and includes one-of-a-kind pieces encouraged the College to seek funding for cataloging. A grant from Aid Association for Lutherans (AAL) allowed the library staff to send the catalog cards to the Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) in Ohio, where they were converted into machine readable files that can be loaded into CLICnet, the library's online catalog. Outsourcing the conversion project to OCLC was advantageous primarily because OCLC has staff with expertise in cataloging music and non-English language materials. As a result, the project was completed much faster there than it could have been done at Augsburg. Cataloging records in an online format allows patrons to search them locally in CLICnet and makes them available to scholars and researchers around the world. "These musical scores have been distinguished as a solid, core collection of well-known and lesser known Scandinavian composers, giving it depth as well as breadth," says librarian and professor Karen Mateer. At least 70 percent of the collection, according to Schjelderup-Ebbe, is essential for scholars interested in Nordic music. "This resource will be a tool to understand our Norwegian musical heritage and build a link to contemporary Nordic culture," explains music professor Merilee Klemp. Several events during Mai Fest 2000 will feature music from the Scandinavian collection. Deborah Hutterer is a communications specialist in the Public Relations and Communication Office. |
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