Becoming a music librarian requires specialized training in librarianship and music, as well as additional skills depending on the work environment. This demanding job involves a broad skill set, including archival courses and knowledge of cultural and historical context. Passion for music, organization, and cataloging skills are also necessary.
Someone who wants to become a music librarian should plan on spending a lot of time in school. People interested in this type of work will need to receive training in librarianship and music, and additional skills may also be required, depending on the type of environment in which they wish to work. Music librarians work for colleges and universities, music archives, orchestras, radio and TV stations, organizations working in the field of music, and many other settings as well. This job can be very demanding and involves a broad skill set.
To qualify as a music librarian, you must complete the requirements to become a librarian and complete additional training to specialize in music. To be a librarian, someone needs to have a master’s in library science or a master’s in information science. People who want to specialize in music often complete music training as part of their undergraduate work, learning about the history, theory and practice of music. Some music librarians also come from a performing background, although this is not required to become a music librarian.
To become a music librarian, you may need to take special archival courses to learn how to care for the objects in a music library. In addition, people may need training in dance, film and television, and other aspects of the arts that music can integrate. Someone working as a music librarian for an opera company, for example, needs a deep understanding of opera and stage performance, not just skills as a librarian and music lover.
Courses in ethnomusicology, anthropology, and even archeology may also be required to become a music librarian. This course is used by librarians working with ethnic music, early music and musical manuscripts from other eras and cultures. Because librarians need to understand the objects in their collections, they must have a thorough grounding in the cultural and historical context of the objects they work with. Someone managing a collection of Renaissance music manuscripts, for example, needs to know the history of the era, the musical trends that existed during that period, and the proper archiving technique for dealing with documents from the 14th to 17th centuries.
It helps to have a passion for music to become a music librarian, but you also need good organization and cataloging skills and the ability to contextualize information. A good music librarian knows the collections he or she closely oversees and cares for, and can help people with research requests, locating specific items, and arranging for borrowing and viewing from other libraries.
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