Session 1Author(s): Liz HartSource: Fontes Artis Musicae, Vol. 28, No. 1/2, TWELFTH INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OFMUSIC LIBRARIES, ARCHIVES AND DOCUMENTATION CENTRES: CAMBRIDGE/ENGLAND(Januar-Juni 1981), p. 44Published by: International Association of Music Libraries, Archives, and Documentation Centres(IAML)Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/23505739 .

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44 Comission Reports and Papers

Session 1

In her paper on recent developments in music for disabled people Daphne Kennard (Disabled

Living Foundation, Londoh) was able to present to the meeting several items of news and infor

mation updating her recent article for Fontes, q.v1. A blind professional harpsichordist, John Henry, has been awarded a scholarship to investigate holdings of Braille music and the possibilities of arrang

ing a world system of exchange, while in the United Kingdom Miss Kennard is working with the

Partially Sighted Society on ways of producing large print music more cheaply. For players with the

use of only one hand a recorder can now be made to their personal hand specification by a Japanese

company, Zenon, for around £ 100 sterling; librarians will be interested to note that provision for

isolating piano music for left and right hand alone is being made in the new Dewey classification for

music (781.476 and 781.477 respectively). The talk produced an enthusiastic response from the

floor, drawing forth the information that the Suzuki method is being used in the Victoria Institute for the Blind, Melbourne, and that tape recorders are made available on the housebound service of

Sheffield Public Libraries. It also elicited provisional invitations to visit the home countries of two of the delegates during the coming year. These opportunities Miss Kennard finds invaluable in broad

ening her work, and in providing the basis for the exchange of ideas and programme of work for the disabled. The general impression was that things are gathering momentum, albeit slowly, and the

paper concluded with a look ahead to the 1981 International Year of Disabled People2. The other main topic in this first session was Music for Children, with papers from Britta Carlsson

(Sweden) and Bent Christiansen (Denmark) which are published separately in these pages. Additionally, interim reports were received in absentia from Cheryl Osborn (Canada) on standards,

with a full report promised by the end of the year, and from Elisabeth Strandbygaard (Denmark) on a simple practical arrangement of music publishers' catalogues for the public music library situation.

Liz Hart, Secretary

Children and Music - A Report from Sweden

Britta Carlsson (Stockholm)

In 1980 the worsening economic situation in Sweden resulted in cut-backs in staff

and media in the public libraries, and, probably as a consequence of that, the loan statis

tics show a falling trend.

The typical music library here is usually a record library, with a special collection in

the children's department. At present, as so often in the past, librarians are questioning whether public libraries should be expected to provide gramophone records for loan, and

want to start to make savings in the music department. Several libraries have already ceased buying records to save media money, or have stopped playing records to save staff.

Up to now there has been no reduction in the library service to children, but discussion

of children's listening habits has flared up and in many children's departments listening to records has been stopped for reasons other than the economic ones. The librarians

are worried about discipline problems in connection with listening to pop music, but above

all about passive listening. Conferences have been held all over the country to discuss

these problems. The theme of the last one this spring was "Earphones? Active or passive

listening?" In spite of all problems it seems clear that most children's librarians want to keep

music as an integrated part of the children's department. They see music as part of chil dren's culture as a whole. They want sheet music, instruments, gramophone records for

D.J. Kennard, Music services for handicapped people, in: Fontes 27, 1980, pp. 77-84. It is hoped this paper will be published shortly in the IAML (UK Branch) journal, Brio.

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