the music and record libraries of the canadian broadcasting corporation

The Music and Record Libraries of the Canadian Broadcasting CorporationAuthor(s): Gordon RichardsonSource: Fontes Artis Musicae, Vol. 34, No. 4 (Oktober-Dezember 1987), pp. 211-216Published by: International Association of Music Libraries, Archives, and Documentation Centres(IAML)Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/23507515 .

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211

The Music and Record Libraries of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Gordon Richardson (Toronto)*

Broadcast music libraries are as old as broadcasting itself, i. e., very young in comparison to other

types of libraries. Beginning in the 1930s, radio stations built libraries - usually from a core of orchestral

arrangements - because they had to produce a large number of "live" music programs. Development was tied to program needs, thus collections were created which are broad in scope and which often

emphasize non-traditional areas.

With the disappearance of all the CBC-owned symphony orchestras, the demand for orchestral

material has also disappeared. Music Library acquisitions are now generally scores and parts for

chamber works, scores used for post-production editing, and popular song folios. The various Record

Libraries, however, continue to expand and it appears that the demand for recorded music will continue

unabated for some time to come.

The Music and Record Libraries of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation were created

by and respond to the radio and television program requirements of the region in which they are located. These libraries are essentially closed to the public except for legitimate

research, consultation, or assistance, subject to local approval. Being special libraries by

nature, they have developed independently of the usual standards and approaches

commonly used by public and academic libraries as well as independently of each other.

Each library's means of fulfilling program needs have evolved to meet service expectations.

Toronto Music Library

The beginning of the Toronto Music Library precedes the establishment of the Canadian

Broadcasting Corporation itself. When the CBC was created in November 1936, it acquired the staff and facilities of its predecessor, the Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission

(CRBC), which had been established in 1932. During its four-year existence, the CRBC had

expanded and taken over two Toronto radio stations, CKGW and CKNC. Thus in 1936

when the CBC took over the CRBC, it acquired the music libraries of CKGW and CKNC as

well as all the musical arrangements created during the years 1933 to 1936 when the CRBC

was producing and broadcasting its own musical shows.

By 1942 music filled 57 % of program time and every musical program broadcast had its

origin in one of the CBC Music Libraries situated in the various program regions across the

country. In Toronto, for example, the Music Library provided 16-hour-a-day service to the

program builders of the Ontario region and had become the largest music library in

Canadian radio.

By 1949 one of this Library's major concerns was the provision of scores for the numerous

live music programs being broadcast from Toronto. As well as printed scores, the Library

contained many arrangements and much original background music for dramatic produc

tions by eminent Canadian composers. In 1952 television was introduced in Canada, and by 1957 it had brought to an end

virtually all the big radio musical variety shows. The CBC, like the other North American

networks, found that it could no longer afford the high costs of live production and began to

phase it out. The CBC Opera Company did not perform after 1955 and the CBC Symphony

Orchestra was dissolved in 1964.

* Gordon Richardson is Senior Cataloguer in the Record Library of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.



212 G. Richardson: The Music and Record Libraries of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

In 1969 the Toronto Music Library was moved from its quarters in the Jarvis Street

complex to its present location at 90 Sumach Street. The Library's holdings include classical

music scores and performing parts, popular music sheets, folios, and dance band

orchestrations, special collections, monographs, periodicals, a vertical file, and a collection

of original master tapes. The classical music section is comprised of 3,900 sets - score and performing parts

- of

orchestral works, 1,400 sets - score and parts - of string orchestra works, 2,100 performing

sets of chamber music works, 360 performing sets for violin and piano, 1,700 individual

pieces, folios, and anthologies for piano, 3,600 choral works with multiple copies of each

title, 6,000 scores, 1,330 vocal scores of operas, operettas, and musicals, 2,500 sets - score

and parts - of works for voice and orchestra, 2,100 volumes of Lieder, art songs, folk songs,

hymns, national songs, etc., 20 sets of complete works, about 50 full scores of operas, and 10

full performance sets of operas. The popular music collection, estimated to be the largest in Canada, totals about 35,000

song sheets, anthologies, and dance band orchestrations. There are multiple copies of most

titles, all of which are indexed; folios have been analysed.

Special collections include arrangements of songs and light classics for performance on

variety and music programs plus background music for radio and television dramas,

comedies, documentaries, etc. Some of these arrangements, all of which are manuscript, have been sent to the National Library in Ottawa as archival material. Manuscript

arrangements by Canadian composers of works for voice and orchestra are also being sent to

the National Library. In addition there is a collection of scores and parts of over 500

Canadian concert works commissioned by the CBC. A catalogue of these commissioned

works has been compiled and printed. A reference section holds approximately 600 volumes -

mostly bibliographical and bio

bibliographical - and 30 periodical titles. A vertical file is stored in 12 metal filing cabinet drawers with all material indexed.

The original master tape collection, estimated to be in excess of 10,000 reels and growing at a rate of 2,000 reels per year, was acquired in February 1987. An original master is the

tape, or tapes, of a public musical performance containing only music and ambiance, unless

a master of ceremonies or conductor spoke as part of the presentation. As these tapes are

received in the Music Library they are auditioned for content, accessioned, cross-referenced

by program title and broadcast date of first use of content, labelled, and shelved. Later, each

tape is dubbed onto a package, or program, that includes a host and script, making it

suitable for broadcast. The completed packages are stored in Program Archives. At present the personnel is comprised of a supervisor, one music librarian, and two music clerks.

The acquisition policy is based on program requirements and an effort to anticipate

program producers by ordering material considered to reflect current musical interest. Stock

orders are placed with European and American agents; small and rush orders are placed with local sheet music retailers. Material not available on sale is rented whenever occasion

demands.

Library policy permits the loan of materials to employees and traditionally to some

orchestras with whom the Library has reciprocal borrowing privileges. External queries

concerning music in general are answered whenever possible; queries concerning music heard on programs are referred to Audience Relations, the department which handles such

questions. Until 1974 none of the Library staff had had any training in librarianship. However, from

the very beginning an attempt had been made to classify and catalogue the material using loose-leaf binders and card indexes. In 1962 work began on the codification of Library rules and procedures. During the next fifteen years a set of rules for cataloguing the collection was refined and rewritten. In 1978 a feasibility study was implemented to determine what better

system might be applied for organizing the collection. It was decided in 1980 that



G. Richardson: The Music and Record Libraries of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation 213

classification of music would be by Dickinson and cataloguing by modified Library of

Congress. The reference collection was subsequently catalogued using Library of Congress

rules; periodicals and journals are not catalogued. There are no immediate plans to

automate any of the Library's routines.

The tuning, repair, and general upkeep of all CBC-owned musical instruments is arranged

through the Music Library whenever required, as is moving and cartage of large instruments

for use in CBC studios or remote recording locations. If for any reason a CBC-owned piano is unsatisfactory or unavailable for use in a radio production, a substitute instrument will be

rented. Arrangements for the rental of an instrument for a television production, however, are made through the Staging Operations Office. The Music Library is administered as part of the Radio Plant which reports to Network Administration.

Toronto Record Library

During the 1930s virtually all music programs originating in CBC studios across the

country were broadcast live to air. However, some recorded music was available to listeners

through the CBC Record and Transcription Libraries located in various regions of the

network. Transcribed programs were programs planned in a series with a definite theme

established and continued throughout. A separate department wrote continuity for these

programs to give them character and form. The CBC Record and Transcription Library for

the Ontario region was maintained at radio station CBL on Davenport Road until 1940. In

that year the Toronto Record Library, which held some 10,000 recordings, and Transcrip tion Services became separate departments.

In 1944 the property and building on Jarvis Street owned by Havergal Ladies' College -

and previously occupied by the Royal Canadian Air Force - was purchased by the CBC. The

purpose was to provide more accommodation and to bring together the various CBC offices

and studios located in different buildings throughout Toronto. In 1945 the Record Library was moved into this building

- today still the centre of radio music operations

- and

remained there until 1979.

In 1949 installation of equipment for using long-playing records started in CBC studios

and by mid-1950 all points across the country, except Newfoundland, were equipped. Most

CBC stations began using long-playing records on a more or less experimental basis but by 1952 records had reached a standard of quality that made them the inexpensive form of

programming needed to replace costly live broadcasts. Stereophonic records were intro

duced in 1958 which resulted in a chain of FM stations coming into existence across the

country. In 1979 the Toronto Record Library outgrew its quarters on Jarvis Street and was moved

to its present location at 100 Carlton Street. It's holdings comprise approximately 85,000

titles contained on nearly 200,000 records, taking into account multiple copies. The

collection is shelved by category, i.e., classical, popular, ethnic/folk, Christmas, documen

tary, spoken word, French, and jazz, to facilitate browsing. New records are added to each

category in accession order as the shifting required by any other arrangement could not be

accomplished due to space and staff limitations. A reference collection presently made up of

about 500 books and 85 periodical titles is housed in a separate room within the Library. In

addition, a vertical file containing for the most part biographical information on performing

artists is maintained.

The collection also includes American, European, and Canadian 45rpm records, and a

rapidly growing number of compact discs. Archival and restricted sections contain rare and

limited-use records which are kept in locked cabinets but which may be borrowed for limited

periods of time. The stacks are open to users for the retrieval of records and four listening

booths are provided, each equipped with a conventional turntable and a compact disc

player.



214 G. Richardson: The Music and Record Libraries of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

At present the personnel is comprised of a co-ordinator, a supervisor, a senior clerk, a

senior cataloguer, two record librarians, and three music clerks. There are no computer

programmers on staff; software packages are purchased, installed, and maintained by the

co-ordinator.

The Library's acquisition policy is as follows:

a) a basic principle is to preserve the integrity of one of the largest and best collections of

commercially produced sound recordings in North America by attempting to buy at least

one copy of all significant world releases as resources and other policies permit;

b) in the interests of objectivity, critical judgements are not valid criteria except in obvious

cases of agreed technical or performance shortcomings;

c) as the second strongest collection within Canada of Canadiana - after the National

Library in Ottawa - an attempt is always made to document the production of the Canadian

recording industry as completely as possible, and to provide the widest possible range of

material to meet Canadian Radio and Television Commission (CRTC) Canadian-content

regulations;

d) material requested by programming departments for specific purposes shall always be

first priority. A considerable number of recordings are sent to the Library from record manufacturers

as promotional copies. In addition to commercially issued records, the Library continually adds to the production music section. These particular records are manufactured by

companies such as Boosey & Hawkes and Chappell and contain descriptive music used as

background in a variety of radio and television productions. Records are loaned to CBC personnel for program production purposes only. Access to

the public is restricted and loan privileges are not extended beyond employees of the

Corporation. A computerized circulation control system using a DIGITAL Professional 350

computer was installed in 1983. A bar code label is affixed to each record jacket as it is

accessioned and the record is added to the computer database. Each borrower is assigned a

bar code number which is kept on file, together with other pertinent information, at the

circulation desk. Overdue notices are generated and printed regularly and forwarded to the

appropriate program department. Records lost or not returned are replaced at the

borrower's expense. To locate a desired record, both card and online catalogues must be searched. The card

catalogue, which was closed in September 1985, is a dictionary catalogue divided into two

large sections, classical and popular. Access to the classical section is by medium of

performance subdivided by name of performer, distinctive title, subject, and by name of

composer subdivided by title of composition. Access to the popular music section - which

includes documentary and spoken word records - is by title of selection, title of film, name

of stage production, subject, name of author, and by name of artist or ensemble. The online

catalogue, stored on hard disk in an IBM PC-XT, offers the same access points as mentioned

above plus shelf number and record label and number. The record label card index,

complete to the date the card catalogue was closed, is presently being entered retrospec

tively into the computer database. Retrospective conversion of other card files is under

consideration.

Automation of Library routines has removed the onerous burden of time-consuming

typing and filing of catalogue cards and re-focused the efforts of staff on more productive and challenging tasks. At the same time, automation permits staff to uphold the present high level of service required to meet growing demands despite considerable cuts in the

Corporation's over-all operating budget. The Record Library is administered as part of the Radio Plant which reports to Network Administration.



G. Richardson: The Music and Record Libraries of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation 215

Regional Libraries

The Halifax Music and Record Library was begun in 1939, located in the Hotel Nova

Scotian. Music material was acquired and accumulated as a result of program requirements but no systematic control was applied to the collection. By 1956 the collection had reached a

size of 2,000 long-playing records and about 8,000 78rpm records.

By 1963 the Library had been moved to its present location on Sackville Street. The

printed music and record sections of the Library occupy separate areas in the building. Music Library operations are relatively small because of few demands on its resources so the

bulk of the staffs time and energy is given to Record Library operations. A card catalogue of the printed music may be accessed by name of composer, title of composition, shelf

number, and category of work, e.g., orchestral, piano. In 1975 a record cataloguing system was implemented based on Library of Congress rules. At present the printed music

collection of about 7,500 items is largely unused; the record collection has grown to about

45,000 discs. The Vancouver Music and Record Library was established in 1937 and occupied quarters

in the Hotel Vancouver. By 1948 the Library contained about 500 orchestrations - mostly

manuscript arrangements - and some 200 78rpm records. In 1975 the Library was moved to

its present location on Cambie Street when all CBC departments in Vancouver were brought

together in one building. At present the holdings number about 17,000 music titles and

about 85,000 records.

The CBC began broadcasting in Manitoba in 1937 using the facilities of radio station CKY

in Winnipeg, at that time owned and operated by the Manitoba Telephone System. In 1948

the CBC bought the station and changed its call letters from CKY to CBW. During its first

five years of existence the Library occupied space in the Manitoba Telephone Building on

Portage Avenue East; in 1953 it was moved to its present location at 541 Portage Avenue.

When television came to Winnipeg in 1954, there was an increased demand for music

because of the number of shows being telecast live. The decrease in the number of live music

programs broadcast on radio meant more air time had to be filled with recorded music. This

in turn meant an increase in record purchases which resulted in the Library's growth to its

present size of about 23,000 records. There is also an extensive production-music library of

records available to program designers.

Until 1986 the printed music section of the Library, although largely unused for broadcast

purposes, was kept to service the needs of the CBC Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra.

Following the demise of that organization, this material and its card catalogue were shipped to the Toronto Music Library into whose holdings some of it will likely be accessioned.

Approximately 15 years ago a computerized cataloguing system was implemented as a

local initiative in the Regina, Saskatchewan Record Library. Conversion of the card

catalogue to computerized catalogue was achieved by first entering the appropriate information on coded worksheets then keypunching it onto cards for batch entry into a

database. Printouts provided lists of the records arranged in any of several available ways,

e.g., by title of composition, shelf number, name of composer or artist.

In 1975 the format of the printout was changed from paper to microfiche. The

compactness of the resulting catalogue printout was demonstrated to other CBC regional

library personnel, several of whom decided to have their library's card catalogue converted

to microfiche. As each library entered the system, catalogue data unique to its holdings was

contributed. The number of libraries currently sharing the system is 13 and the database in

the Regina library's computer contains over 1,500,000 individual selections. A printout on

microfiche of the database is done three or four times yearly and a copy is sent to each

contributing library. Several of the regional libraries have purchased their own computer which they have used

to develop local programs for cataloguing new releases, i.e., records received after the latest



216 K. Keiser/M. Hand: The Canadian Music Centre

microfiche update, 45rptn discs, sound effect and production-music records. Long-range

plans include the possibility of networking the computers in these libraries for faster data

entry and retrieval.

The Canadian Music Centre: A History" Karen Keiser (Toronto) with Mark Hand (Toronto)*

The Canadian Music Centre was founded on January 1,1959, by the Canadian Music Council, thanks

to grants from the newly formed Arts Council of Canada, and CAP AC (Composers, Authors and

Publishers Association of Canada Limited). Its national office is located at Chalmers House in Toronto, and there are regional branches in Montreal, since 1973, Vancouver, since 1977, and Calgary, since

1980.

The main object of the CMC is the promotion of Canadian music, but the organisation also provides a variety of information services, administers many awards to young composers, and offers copying and

reproduction services to professional composers. In 1981 the Centre began to produce discs of the Centrediscs recording label, and has distributed a

selection of sound recordings of Canadian music. Jointly with the Canadian Music Educators'

Association, the CMC co-ordinated the Adaskin Project, which aims to encourage the study and

performance of Canadian music in schools.

The Centre is a private body, without profit making ends, funded by the public and private sectors. It

is governed by an administrative council, with representation from the various regions.

The Establishment

No one can recall who thought of it first. It seemed to be "in the air". As early as the 1930s

Sir Ernest MacMillan wrote about the need for a central repository of information on

Canadian music. In 1979, when the fledgling Canadian Music Council applied to the

Government of Canada for incorporation, its aims and objectives included the promotion of

Canadian music and the facilitation of its performance. But all concerned realized the

necessity of an agency dedicated to achieving this purpose. The United States was the first country to establish such an entity

- a "music information

centre". The American Music Center was set up in New York City in 1940. Following the

war, one of the most illustrious examples of the breed emerged in Amsterdam. Donemus

was formed to publish and promote the music of Dutch composers, with ample subsidy from

the Netherlands government. Today there are music information centres in twenty-three countries throughout the world.

Composers and other involved individuals in Canada during the 1950s watched the

developments in New York and Amsterdam with great interest. At that time, a number of

organizations shared the initiative and responsibility for providing information and materials

on newly-created works. The Canadian League of Composers collected music scores of all

kinds from 1954 on. Stacks of orchestral parts, chamber music, songs and piano music

accumulated in the house of John Beckwith, then secretary of the League.

* This article is excerpted from The Canadian Music Centre: a History by Karen Reiser (first published in Celebration [Toronto: Canadian Music Centre, 1984]), revised by Mark Hand, National Librarian, Canadian Music Centre, 1987. ** Karen Reiser is Head of Radio Music, The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. - Mark Hand is National Librarian, The Canadian Music Centre.



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