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
- 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.
- Publicize the availability of Archival Description of Notated Music through social media and listserv announcements. [Goal areas: Education, Value of the Profession]
- Propose programming for the 2021 MLA meeting in Cincinnati. [Goal area: Education]
- 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.]