In 2019, The Fine Arts -- Music Library was split. A new separate Music Library was established, where the music collections are now primarily housed. This has not affected collection development policies, however, the management of the unit and its components has changed. The Music Library will continue to be the most significant and approachable collection for patrons on campus, in mid-Michigan and across the state.
The College of Music is expected to continue to grow in both faculty and students, who will all need library resources.
The Community Music School has developed exponentially throughout its history. Students may be too young to use the collections but their teachers and parents rely on library resources. Although off-campus, CMS is an important component of the College of Music.
The Music Library became much more visible to other University patrons once it moved to the Main Library in 1994. Non-musicians use the facility to some extent, especially when RCAH or IAH have music-focused classes.
Western art music traditions are historical strengths of the College of Music and the Music Library. In addition, art music traditions outside the Western Europe and North America are increasingly studied (e.g., the music of the Orthodox church or Chinese classical music) and continue to require resources.
Ethnomusicology and jazz are important areas of emphasis as majors within the College of Music. In addition, ethnomusicology and non-Western emphases are incorporated into standard music classes. Both areas will continue to require material.
An increasing emphasis is placed on collecting literature about popular music. It is a growing area of scholarly research and is increasingly incorporated into the curriculum in the College of Music. The study of popular music also has relevance to other interdisciplinary areas of study, such as within IAH and other non-music courses.
Programs in graduate choral, band and orchestral conducting are extremely strong and will continue to require additional resources.
Reference material, both in paper and in various digital formats, remains an important part of the collection. Reference sources which are affordable and useful will continue to be added to the collection.
Faculty and student requests will be honored whenever possible and as long as those requests meet collection development criteria.