The University of Queensland

1. Purpose of the collection

The Architecture/Music Library provides materials to support the programs of the School of Geography, Planning and Architecture and the School of Music, for teaching, research and music performance.

2. Primary user groups served

The core clients of the library are staff in the School of Geography, Planning and Architecture, and the School of Music; students undertaking the vocational degrees of Bachelor of Architecture, Bachelor of Design Studies, Bachelor of Regional and Town Planning, and Bachelor of Music; students working towards Bachelor of Education, Bachelor of Arts, and Bachelor of Business (Real Estate and Development); and students in the graduate programs leading to Masters and Doctoral degrees in Music, Architecture, Planning, and Property Studies. Resources of the library are also used by other schools in the University, particularly in the areas of engineering, classics and ancient history, anthropology, sociology, history, art history, earth sciences, botany, and occupational and speech therapies.

3. History of the collection

The Architecture and Music Library was opened in 1976. The basis of its present collection was the amalgamation of the collections of the Architecture and Music libraries.

Although Architecture and Town Planning have been taught at the University since 1937, the Library collection to support these disciplines did not really begin to develop until the late 1950's. In 1954, the first librarian was appointed and with the move to St. Lucia a few years later, the Library achieved adequate space and increasing stocks. In 1958, the C.J. Virgo fund was established for purchases in the field of construction. This fund was further supplemented upon the death of his widow. Other benefactors, such as A.E. Brooks, Colin Clark, Peter Newell and Karl and Gertrude Langer have helped to further develop the collections.

The growth of the monograph collection has been supported by a very substantial journal collection. In the 1970's and 1980's, the research strength of the collection was considerably bolstered by the purchase of major journal backruns. However, the increasing price of journals from the late 1980's has made it difficult to maintain the level of print journal support. This has been offset to some extent by increasing access to electronic journals and other resources online. The major strengths of the Architecture and Planning collection continue to lie in the areas of Australian architecture and planning, modern architecture, construction and urban design. The value of the collection has also been strengthened by a substantial audiovisual component, which includes tapes, slides, videos and CD-ROMs.

While music has been taught at the University since 1934, growth of the collection has developed mainly since the mid-1960s, with the establishment of the then Faculty of Music and a larger research programme. Purchase of books, journals, printed music, sound recordings and other formats, and electronic services has been steady since this time, with significant assistance from Music research funds.

In the early 1990s, the Library held a major percentage of important journals indexed in the major music periodical indexes, many in full sets. While most are still held, it has become difficult to remain abreast of new journal developments. Electronic journals have been particularly useful in the popular music area, which has been taught only since the mid-1990s. Access to print and electronic journals has been considerably enhanced by subscriptions to music and related electronic databases.

The print music collection has and continues to be oriented towards teaching, research and performance, with both scholarly and practical editions collected. Collection of sound and video recordings and multimedia materials is steady, with format changes hindering the depth of a collection in any one format. Growth of the collection of facsimiles or copies of music manuscripts and early printed editions is mainly due to individual demands by researchers, with some larger music collections from overseas libraries purchased (on microfilm) during the 1970s and early 1980s.

4. Description of collection

The Music collection includes editions of vocal and instrumental works from the medieval to contemporary periods, an audio and video collection of performances and pedagogical material, facsimiles of primary source materials, and music literature books, journals, and multimedia.

The Architecture, Planning and Property Studies collections include books, journals and multimedia material covering many aspects of these disciplines. Strengths of the collection include a focus on Australian material, and works on individual architects. A fine collection of architectural records and plans dating from the last two decades of the nineteenth century, is housed in the Fryer Library.

Emphasis in collections is placed on:

Of the many electronic databases to which the University of Queensland Library has access, those of particular interest to the Architecture/Music Library are:

5. Interdisciplinary relationships

Related subject areas serviced by several other branch libraries include art history, classics and ancient history, geography, anthropology, sociology, government, law, commerce and economics, education, psychology, occupational and speech therapies, languages, and Australian studies.

6. Scope of current collecting

1. Languages collected: The collection is primarily in English, but no language is excluded. Some journals and higher level materials are in foreign languages. Dictionaries of major languages are held to support these materials.
2. Geographical areas collected: No geographical area is excluded. There is emphasis on collecting Australian materials in some areas.
3. Chronological periods collected: No chronological area is excluded.
4. Formats of material collected: No form of material is excluded, except for some obsolete sound and video formats. Materials are held in various audio, video, and slide formats. A number of journal backruns and music primary source facsimiles are held on microform.
5. Publication dates: Emphasis is generally placed on the collection of current and recent material. Older publications are purchased as required to support teaching and research. Print music purchases rarely rely on publication date.
6. Conspectus: