Table of Contents
Message from the Chair
Proposal for Changes to By-Laws
Spring 2023 Meeting Call for Proposals
NEMLA Membership Renewal
EDIJ Committee Report
Establishing Collaboration with Other Organizations
Noteworthy News
— The Music in The Music of Black Americans
— NEMLA Dinner at MLA
NEMLA Officers
Publication Information
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Message from the Chair
Dear NEMLA,
It was truly lovely to catch up with many of you at MLA in St. Louis. This was my first time seeing another music librarian face-to-face since the 2020 MLA meeting in Norfolk! I was really inspired by the program this year and was reminded that it’s so important to spend time together as professionals outside of committee meetings.
I’ve got some brief updates from the board: First, the proposed by-laws changes will be posted to NEMLA website soon for your review and are include below. A virtual ballot is forthcoming and results will be announced at the spring meeting. Second, the work on the NEMLA virtual archive is ongoing. After this first pass through materials in our GDrive, we hope that an incoming NEMLA Archivist will be willing to advise and check our work. The NEMLA Archivist position remains vacant and interested members are encouraged to express interest to me via email. Third, the annual reports for the last three years are live on the NEMLA website. We hope that sharing our goals in this way will create some accountability and continuity in work as the board changes each year.
And finally, it is my great pleasure to thank our colleagues at Berklee College of Music for agreeing to host our spring meeting. The call for program proposals is included in this issue of Quarter Notes.
Looking forward to seeing you in June,
Memory Apata
NEMLA Chair
Music & Performing Arts Librarian | Dartmouth College
Proposal for Changes to By-Laws FY23
The following are proposed amendments to the NEMLA by-laws, as approved by the executive board. Members may vote on the proposed changes by using this virtual ballot.
Proposal 1: Regulation of Officer/Committee Chair Terms
This change will standardize the length of terms for officers and committee chairs. Terms will start on July 1st, decoupling the start of terms from the spring meeting date. Proposed additions are in red. Strikethrough text will be excluded from the new version of the by-laws.
ARTICLE IV. OFFICERS
- There shall be a Chair who shall preside at all meetings, appoint committees (see Article VIII for exception), and perform the duties customary to this office. The term of office shall be one year, after which the Chair shall succeed to the office of Past-Chair.
- There shall be a Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect who shall be responsible for programs and perform the duties of the Chair in the latter’s absence. The Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect shall also serve as an ex-officio member of the Education & Outreach Committee. The term of office shall be one year, after which the Vice-Chair shall succeed to the office of Chair.
- There shall be a Past-Chair who shall appoint and chair the Nominating Committee and perform other duties as necessary. The term of office shall be one year.
- There shall be a Secretary/Treasurer who shall record the minutes of all meetings and preserve all official records and reports of the Chapter; notify the members of all meetings at least two weeks in advance; keep an up-to-date membership list; conduct any correspondence of the Chapter as may be required; collect dues; make authorized expenditures; maintain Chapter accounts and report on status of these accounts at each board meeting; prepare an annual budget; and perform duties customary to this office. The term of office shall be two years.
- There shall be a Member-at-Large who shall act as liaison to relevant professional organizations in New England (such as the New England Library Association (NELA),the six state library associations, the New England chapter of ACRL (ACRL/NEC), and the New England chapter of the American Musicological Society) primarily to promote information exchange and outreach. The Member-at-Large shall also serve as Chair of the Education & Outreach Committee. The term of office shall be two years.
- There shall be a Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Justice (EDIJ) Officer who shall be responsible for leading the chapter’s EDIJ efforts. The EDIJ Officer shall also serve as Chair of the EDIJ Committee. The term of office shall be two years.
- The Board may appoint non-voting, special officers for a two year term of service renewable at the board’s discretion. Except when otherwise specified, special officers may serve no more than four consecutive years.
- A) All officers shall be members in good standing of the Chapter. B) The Chair and Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect shall be members of the national association.
- Terms of office shall commence
immediately following the Spring meetingon July 1st. - No officer shall be eligible for more than two consecutive terms in the same office.
ARTICLE VIII.A. COMMITTEES
- The Standing Committees shall be the Nominating Committee, the Program Committee, the Instruction Committee, the Publications Committee, the Technical Services Committee, the Education & Outreach Committee, and the Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Justice (EDIJ) Committee. Except when otherwise specified, committee chairs and members may serve no more than two consecutive terms. Service as a member does not preclude subsequent service as chair for two additional terms. Members may be reappointed after being off a committee for one year. The start of term for incoming committee chairs is July 1st.
Reasons for changes:
- The amount of time that the Vice Chair/Chair Elect (de facto Program Committee Chair) has to plan for the fall meeting varies from year to year, depending on the date of the spring meeting. This ranges from 3-9 months.
Proposal 2: Fall Meeting Location
This addition to the by-laws will require NEMLA to hold at least one virtual meeting per year. Proposed additions in red:
ARTICLE VI. MEETINGS
- There shall be a minimum of two meetings a year.
- There shall be a business meeting in the Spring of each year.
- The fall meeting shall be virtual. The spring meeting may be virtual, hybrid, or in-person.
- Meetings shall be called by the Executive Board with at least two weeks’ notice.
- A quorum shall consist of a majority of members present at any meeting.
- The Executive Board shall determine appropriate honoraria for guest presenters at the meetings; NEMLA members do not receive honoraria for presenting.
Reasons for changes:
- Virtual meetings align with our organization’s purpose to “bring together […] all persons in the region interested in music libraries…”
- A majority of members indicated a preference for an online option at NEMLA meetings in a recent survey.
- Virtual meetings allow for a greater number of attendees from the New England area, in particular students and library staff who would not be able to attend in person due to geographical distance or financial constraints. Mandating that at least one meeting occur virtually is a step toward equitable representation and inclusion of these members. This would differ from mandating a hybrid meeting, because remote attendees would not be able to engage equally with in-person meeting activities.
- Planning for a virtual meeting requires considerably less lead time. The planning of a virtual meeting for the fall will allow for much more flexibility in the choosing of a date for the meeting and will ease the workload of the incoming Vice Chair/Chair Elect.
Proposal 3: Virtual Voting Procedure
This addition to the by-laws will require that elections and voting for changes to the by-laws occur virtually, rather than in person.
ARTICLE V. ELECTIONS
1. Officers shall be elected by a plurality of the ballots cast.
2. Ballots shall be distributed to members at least four weeks before the Spring business meeting. Ballots shall be submitted returned by mail to the Secretary/Treasurer as specified thereon.
3. A majority vote of the Executive Board shall break a tie.
4. Voting for officers shall take place virtually.
ARTICLE XI. AMENDMENTS
These By-Laws may be amended by a two-thirds vote according to the following procedures and conditions:
1. Proposed amendments shall be submitted to the Executive Board for consideration at least eight weeks before the meeting of the Chapter at which it is requested that the proposal be presented.
2. Upon approval by the Executive Board texts of the proposed amendments shall be distributed to Chapter members at least four weeks before presentation for discussion at the meeting.
3. Ballots and texts as revised at the meeting shall be distributed to chapter members in a timely manner, generally in the next issue of the chapter newsletter. Ballots shall be returned by mail submitted to the Secretary/Treasurer as specified thereon.
4. Voting for changes to by-laws shall take place by virtual ballot.
Reason for changes:
- It is already common practice for voting to occur virtually, but this convention is not stated in the by-laws.
- A virtual ballot allows for greater participation of members who are unable to attend in-person meetings.
Spring 2023 Meeting Save the Date and Call for Proposals
Save the date! The spring 2023 meeting of NEMLA will be held at the Berklee College of Music, Boston, MA, June 2, 2023. If you would like to present at the meeting, please submit your idea via this (brief) form or click on the QR code below.
Registration details will be announced shortly.
We hope to see you there!
Terry Simpkins, on behalf of the NEMLA Program Committee
Memory Apata
Elizabeth Berndt-Morris
Carol Lubkowski
Rebecca McCallum
Jared Rex
Marlene Wong
NEMLA Membership Renewal
Membership renewal will be coming up soon. Carol Lubkowski, the Secretary/Treasurer, will be sending out a message in the next few months with rates and instructions. If you have any questions about your membership status, renewal, or joining NEMLA, please contact Carol at clubkows at wellesley.edu.
Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Justice Committee Report
The EDIJ Committee recently met with the Board to discuss the future of the committee and its goals. The combined group has committed to creating a framework to help guide the committee in future iterations and leadership. We discussed the possibility of NEMLA conducting an EDIJ self-assessment in order to gauge where the organization stands, what progress has been made, and what needs further attention.Additionally, the EDIJ Committee will be reaching out to individual committees to further understand the individual needs each NEMLA committee may have and how best to support those needs.
The EDIJ Committee is also looking to help revive the currently inactive Oral History Project working group, with a particular focus on collecting a wide diversity of experiences throughout New England music librarianship. Through this revival, we hope to encourage the capture of voices heard less often, including from BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, early career librarians, library students, paraprofessionals, and even those who have chosen to leave the profession. The Committee looks forward to moving forward on these projects and will put out calls to action in the future – we hope you’ll consider taking part or lending aid!
Patrick Quinn, Chair, EDIJ Committee
Research and Instruction Librarian, New England Conservatory
Establishing Collaboration between NEMLA and Other New England Library Organizations
Collaboration between organizations presents a vital opportunity to support one another and promote information exchange. Successful collaboration enables individuals and organizations to evolve their knowledge capacity to foster new ideas and expand upon them within the (music) librarianship profession as a whole. With this in mind, I have been busy rejuvenating efforts over the last few months to build professional relationships between NEMLA and each of the New England library organizations. Within the last couple of months, I have had the pleasure of speaking with the Maine Library Association (MLA) Board, the Connecticut Library Association (CLA) Board, and the Rhode Island Library Association’s (RILA) President. I appreciate that they all kindly invited me to speak to them about NEMLA and start generating conversations about how NEMLA can collaborate with and support such organizations. I would like to share some notable takeaways from speaking with the Maine Library Association Board and the Rhode Island Library Association’s president.
The MLA Board meeting was on the morning of Friday, February 24, 2023, on Zoom. The current MLA President, Wynter Giddings (Past-President after July 1, 2023) invited me to attend at least 3-4 board meetings per year, to serve in an ex-officio capacity, and to possibly have a seat on a committee or roundtable. We also briefly discussed the question of how NEMLA can support academic librarians to best store/house their libraries’ rare, print sheet music collections. Over time, the MLA Board and I intend to revisit these conversations and ideas in the near future.
The RILA President, Rachael Juskuv, and I had an informal conversation via Zoom on Monday, March 20, 2023. She first suggested that NEMLA share notable updates, accomplishments, and information about upcoming chapter meetings/events via the RILA listserv and/or their bi-monthly newsletter, the RILA Bulletin. While individuals must be a member of RILA to contribute to the listserv and the newsletter, being a former, long-time Rhode Islander, I am still a member of RILA. Therefore, I am happy to share anything with them on your behalf if interested in sharing anything with RILA. Rachael also explained that the association welcomes any invigorating proposal ideas from NEMLA members–regardless of what New England state they reside in–interested in presenting at RILA, whether individually or collectively with other librarians in Rhode Island. In regards to conferences, Rachael offered the potential use of their Zoom license for NEMLA to host virtual/hybrid chapter meetings. Similarly, she offered for NEMLA to use RILA’s physical library spaces to host upcoming in-person meetings. Of course, my hope is that NEMLA reciprocates many of these outlets for information exchange, collaboration, and support with RILA.
While meeting with the MLA Board, the CLA Board, and the RILA President, I provided information and links for them to look into NEMLA’s membership, meeting structure, First-Time Attendees Program for meetings, the newsletter, and social media links and how to join NEMLA-L. I want to continue nurturing these connections and make new ones over the course of my term as NEMLA’s Member-At-Large. Overall, my hope is that NEMLA and these affiliated New England organizations work together in the most beneficial way(s) possible, and maintain these relationships going forward.
Respectfully submitted,
Emily Colucci, Member-At-Large, NEMLA
Library Assistant, Access Services
George and Helen Ladd Library, Bates College
Noteworthy News
Harvard launches The Music in The Music of Black Americans
The Eda Kuhn Loeb Music Library at Harvard University has launched The Music in The Music of Black Americans, a digital appendix to The Music of Black Americans, the landmark book by Dr. Eileen Southern. Dr. Southern was the first Black woman to receive a tenured professorship in Harvard University’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences in 1974, three years after the first edition of The Music of Black Americans was published; the book itself is a monumental work that develops an extensive musical and cultural history of Black Americans, spanning from before the trans-Atlantic slave trade and continuing through to the mid twentieth century. The site bridges the gap between the text and music as it appears in the book, and as it could appear in the hands or on the screen of a composer, conductor, or musicologist today.
This appendix to the book was created with the support of an Advancing Open Knowledge grant from Harvard Library and is included on the website already designed for the Eileen Southern Project, launched in 2022. The Music in The Music of Black Americans, available at https://musicinmoba.harvardmusiclib.share.library.harvard.edu/, offers the first organized, openly accessible inventory of the musical examples in the first edition of The Music of Black Americans. It provides full-text open access to the complete scores of almost all of these examples, from sources in the collections of Harvard Library and nine other institutions. As an open-access project, the appendix furthers Harvard Library’s commitment to champion access and share knowledge with users around the world. (The Music of Black Americans was exceedingly popular and was most recently reprinted in 2022). Digital scores available on The Music in The Music of Black Americans include:
- Scott’s Joplin’s Maple Leaf Rag (digital score provided by Indiana University Library)
- R. Nathaniel Dett’s In The Bottoms (digital score provided by University of Rochester Library)
- Bob Cole’s Under the Bamboo Tree (digital score provided by Harvard Library)
Should you have a question about the project, please feel free to reach out to the project partners, Christina Linklater, Kerry Masteller and Sandi-Jo Malmon.
Submitted by Sandi-Jo Malmon, Librarian for Collection Development Eda Kuhn Loeb Music Library, Harvard University
NEMLA Dinner at MLA
Photos thanks to Marci Cohen!
NEMLA Officers
Publication Information
New England Quarter Notes is published quarterly in the fall, winter, spring, and summer.
Back issues may be accessed from:
http://nemla.musiclibraryassoc.org/resources/newsletters/
Address all correspondence concerning editorial matters to:
Jennifer Hadley
jthom at wesleyan.edu
Inquiries concerning subscription, membership and change of address should be directed to:
Carol Lubkowski
clubkows at wellesley.edu
Membership year runs July 1st to June 30th.
Regular Personal Membership:$12.00
Student and Retired Membership:$6.00
Institutional Membership$16.00
Return to the New England Music Library Association home page.