By now I’m sure most of the readers of this blog have become familiar with the types of materials the music section offers: large print, braille, and audio. And although we have gone into detail about how we acquire and preserve braille and large print, we have yet to talk about what actually goes into …
The work of digitizing the Music Section‘s braille music scores continues unabated. Details of the Section’s scanners and software were discussed in a previous post. Since then, the German scanner has served as the driving resource for digitizing braille music items. The digital copies of scores and parts are backed up and archived, serving as …
Abigail Adams, in a letter dated March 31st, 1776 to her husband John Adams, advised him to “remember the ladies” in the creation of the new government, independent from Great Britain. This post will be published after March 31st and while Women’s History Month is past, I beg your patience as I also ask you …
This post was co-written with John Hanson. This post addresses what we have heard are occasional problems or misunderstandings of our online resources, what they are, and how to access and/or download wanted scores and books. Catalogs The Text-only version of our catalog (accessible as the second link at //nlscatalog.loc.gov), is the only complete and …
I have always considered the NLS Music Section’s home base in Washington D.C. as a very fine perk of my job. There are numerous opportunities for concerts with great venues such as Kennedy Center, the Strathmore, our own home at the Library of Congress and (according to me) the jewel in the crown of museums, …
Many times our patrons practically inhale some of the titles we send them, they are so anxious to learn about a composer, opera, or the latest lesson for their guitar or piano. They have plenty of time; the established borrowing period is for three months, and should they need it longer, they can renew it …
That’s right, it’s December, and no doubt you’re all busy with your holiday shopping and making a list of naughty and nice. As with many libraries, the NLS Music Section is no different than others when it comes to receiving gifts. Frequently, braille music patrons, and sometimes other institutions will contact us and ask if …
As we add titles to our collection from the Smithsonian Collection, we are eagerly learning more about different music genres and their development, particularly of American Folk Music. When I was told I would have “other duties as assigned” there was no indication that those duties would be so enjoyable. I grew up listening to …
Although the majority of the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS) Music Section’s collection deals with classical music, we also have a wide array of materials dedicated to the great American art form–jazz. In this blog post, I will detail some of the special format materials in our collection that jazz …