Project Group on the Access to Music Archives

Disbanded in 2017.

Overseen by the Archives and Music Documentation Centres Section. Founded 2005, disbanded in 2017, but exploring steps to become a Study Group in 2018.

Terms of reference
The Access to Music Archives Project Group aims to advise colleagues responsible for archives, whether personal or institutional, on the best ways of disseminating information about their holdings in order to promote their collections and to facilitate access. This involves the creation of tools to describe those materials at collection level using archival standards, and the development of an electronic form that archive owners can easily fill with core information in a standardized, multilingual, downloadable and reusable format. The work of this Project Group is overseen by the Archives and Music Documentation Centres Section.

The access to music archives needs to be improved. It is important for scholars to know where the documents are kept after composers, musicians, choirs, opera companies, conservatories, music publishers etc.

The aim of the project group is to provide information about institutions that own personal and institutional fonds and music collections, and to create tools to describe those fonds at the collection level.

Many countries are developing projects related to music archives. This project group aims to connect those projects in order to best supplement the information. This project group also aims to offer countries that do not have their own database the possibility to register individual music archives via a web form in several languages. We welcome institutions that want to take part in this project.

• Update of the Directory of Music Research Libraries – RISM Series C – Europe
• Archive school
• Related projects
• Access to Music Archives brochure (PDF)

AMA history

• 2014 Report for Fontes coming soon
• 2013 Report for Fontes coming soon
• 2012 Report for Fontes coming soon
• 2011 Report for Fontes coming soon
• 2010 Report for Fontes coming soon
• 2009 Report for Fontes coming soon
• 2008 Report for Fontes coming soon
• 2007 Report for Fontes coming soon
• 2007 Summary of application for funding presented to the Mellon Foundation
• 2006 Report for Fontes coming soon