Archives and Special Collections Committee Annual Report 2019

submitted by Maristella Feustle

Current Roster

  • Maristella Feustle, chair (2023)
  • Sofia Becerra-Licha, member (2021)

List of Previous Goals and Progress Made

Pursue publication of Descriptive Best Practices for Archival Music Materials (from 2016-2017 annual report): Substantially complete

  • Archival Description of Notated Music (ADNM) was released for comment by the MLA community in 2018. The Working Group formed through the Archives and Special Collections committee sought co-publication with the Society of American Archivists (SAA), as the document was intended as a companion to the current archival description standard, Describing Archives: a Content Standard (DACS). After extensive feedback from the technical subcommittee in charge of DACS (TS-DACS), the Working Group sought co-publication with SAA of chapter 4 of the larger document, which deals specifically with the contents of DACS, as Guidelines for Archival Description of Notated Music.
  • On August 2, 2019 the Standard Committee of SAA unanimously approved the Guidelines.
  • As of October 4, 2019, the co-chairs of the working group, John Bewley and Elizabeth Surles, have completed a final version of ADNM (with the Guidelines as an appendix), noting that a proposed meeting between SAA and MLA personnel to work out a Memorandum of Understanding regarding the Guidelines is pending as a draft of the MOU is being prepared.

List of Future Goals

  1. Rebuild membership following a period of inactivity [Goal areas: Organizational excellence; Education]
    • A call for members went out on October 4, 2019, with the aim of having the committee fully staffed for the 2020 meeting in Norfolk.
  2. Publicize the availability of Archival Description of Notated Music through social media and listserv announcements. [Goal areas: Education, Value of the Profession]
  3. Propose programming for the 2021 MLA meeting in Cincinnati. [Goal area: Education]
  4. Support the Working Group in its pursuit of co-publication with SAA. [Strategic plan FY 2019-2020 Action: Engage with Other Fine Arts Professional Organizations to Pursue Collaborations for Meetings, Education, and Advocacy.]