Cecilia is a new cross-domain, cross-sectoral project which will create a web-based collection-level map of music resources in UK libraries, archives, museums and specialist music institutions.

The project is being undertaken by IAML(UK) with funding from the British Library Cooperation and Partnership Programme, the Research Support Libraries Programme and the Music Libraries Trust. The Project Director is Susi Woodhouse, President of IAML(UK), and the Project Manager is Dr Paul Andrews.

The UK music collection is dispersed among a large number and variety of institutions, public, private and academic, yet it is a key cultural asset at local and national level. This resource comprises a wide variety of materials – for example, manuscript and printed music, orchestral and vocal sets, musicians’ and other individuals’ papers, sound recordings and multi-media products, music literature, archives of publishers, record companies and other institutions, musical instruments, portraits and other articles, images and artefacts, online digital resources. The list is long. There is as yet no over-arching map of this landscape, no means by which potential users can discover and uncover the richness of its topography. Cecilia will provide such a map by building a collection level resource directory, freely accessible online. Entries for institutions will provide contact details and indicate their access policies and restrictions. Hyperlinks to online services and information will be included where they exist.

Cecilia will operate at different levels. For the serious researcher, detailed collection descriptions of large and small collections, constructed using controlled vocabulary and searchable by keyword, will aid resource discovery and, as the directory grows, eliminate the need to survey large numbers of institutions separately. These descriptions will also enable holding institutions to draw attention to the existence of hitherto hidden collections at a fraction of the time and cost involved in detailed item level cataloguing.

For the general musical public, Cecilia will also function as a resource directory, enabling enquirers to gain a general overview of the music holdings of institutions local to them, or to find for example, the nearest public library with compact discs or vocal sets available for loan.

Cecilia will be a genuinely democratic resource. It will serve both the academic and the public sectors. It will be as important for one user to discover if the local library has a collection of rock CDs as for a researcher to find where a particular composer’s manuscripts are located. The project will contribute to national initiatives in the field of resource discovery and support the Full Disclosure and Access to Archives programmes. Cecilia will also support the UK Government’s commitment to life-long learning.

Cecilia’s objectives will also be of interest to information professionals. The definition of a collection, and ‘collection-level description’ as those terms apply to music resources across the different domains will be an early aim. The project will test thoroughly the RSLP Collection Level Description Schema in a subject-specific area. The mapping exercise itself will indicate the variety of collection strengths, access and development policies across the range of contributing institutions, and will make an ongoing contribution to collection management strategies, and indicate possible areas for further cooperation.

Cecilia will be both a directory and a gateway to music resources across the UK. It is a hugely exciting initiative. Further information will be made available as the project progresses. There is an embryo website at www.Cecilia-uk.org/ In the meantime members of IAML are warmly welcome to contact the Project Manager, Paul Andrews, (p.d.andrews@btinternet.com) for more detailed information.