Music, Culture, and the Library: An Analysis of Discourses

Citation

Tore Abrahamsen, K. (2004), "Music, Culture, and the Library: An Analysis of Discourses", Journal of Documentation, Vol. 60 No. 6, pp. 691-694. https://doi.org/10.1108/00220410410568160

This book has received surprisingly little attention since its publication in 2001. That is not because it lacks quality and relevance. It has both and so a review is long overdue. One of the reasons why this book has not received more notice is because there are not many writings dedicated to the music library, as an institution and a discourse community. The author's point of departure is the music library, which in Finland (her home), conventionally refers to public libraries' music departments. It is widely held in our field of study that music libraries are not fundamentally different from ordinary public libraries concerning information behavior, goals, ideology, etc. While this opinion has merit, it is important to recognize the music library's peculiarity and to stress its value as an important and distinct field of study in library and information science. Talja's book succeeds in combining and promoting these two different perspectives.

Early in the text the author states that the majority of librarians are sensitive to the needs of their users and communities, but she asks: what is really known about users' conceptions of public libraries' service principles? This question motivates the work, which is based on interviews with music library users, supplemented by other sources: library policy statements, radio policy statements, national cultural policy statements, composers’ music writings, composers and other music professionals’ interviews, and concert and record reviews. As stated by the author the work answers the following questions:

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  How do the differences in conceptions of art, culture, and civilization affect the way the aims and functions of public libraries’ music services are defined?

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  How can the differences in conceptions of culture and art be explained?

To investigate these issues, music library discourses are analyzed. Discourse analysis is the primary theoretical approach in this work, which holds that: “… data … are not analyzed as description of external reality, but as evident of interpretative practices” (p. 24). The viewpoint is on social practices and the author emphasizes that: “… meanings are created in “communicatings,” between individuals, not inside individuals” (p. 29) and “[t]he aim of analyzing discourses is to identify and name the interpretative repertoires existing in a particular field. Thus, identification of interpretative repertoires is the end product of discourse analysis, and a repertoire is a named discourse” (p. 11). One of the main goals of the book is to try: “… to make visible the historical forms of thought that forms the library institution and … other cultural institutions as well” (p. 3).

The general outline of the book is as follows. Chapter 1 describes the principles of music library as they have been stated in handbooks of music library activity. This survey provides a basis for chapter 2, which outlines and analyzes contemporary conceptions of the music library, from the perspectives of the interviewees, which include analysis of the basis of the statements of the user interviews. These library versions are labelled the “interpretative repertoires” of the music library. In chapters 3‐5 the three variable starting points of library discourses are related to large‐scale theories of culture, art and civilization. Chapter 3 describes the common culture repertoire, chapter 4 the consumer culture repertoire, and chapter 5 the mosaic culture repertoire.

In chronicling the history of the music library, the author explains that during the 1950s and 1960s service principles in the music library were as a rule not formulated by library professionals as a community, but by well‐known music experts or cultural figures. An important principle in this period was that the library should strengthen national culture, identity and unity. The library should also provide education in musical taste and serve as an alternative to taste‐lowering radio music. Entertainment music should by rule not be included in the library collection, as example a music library guide from 1964 recommends a library collection of 90 percent concert music (Western classical) and 10 percent folk and jazz music.

In the 1970s the attitude toward popular music changed, one of the reasons being that the education of musical tastes had not worked out in practice. In this period the traditional concept of music represented in the libraries’ music collection was criticized. The idea that western art music was a universal phenomenon and that folk music and other continents’ art music were considered more primitive, was challenged. It was stressed that the library collection should include samples of all the world's music traditions and styles, with weight on exotic, ancient and experimental music, which records was hard to acquire by ordinary listeners. Educating tastes was still important but now also in the field of popular music.

In 1986 the Handbook of Library Activity was published. This handbook followed in the footsteps of previous library policy statements concerning its emphasis on quality in music collections in expense of general music supply. Other music selection criteria were: diversity, less evaluation between music traditions, balance between domestic and foreign music, and attention to local circumstances. User demands was regarded as of secondary importance but the: “… provision of popular rock, hit music, and dance music was no longer considered to be against libraries’ quality and diversity criteria” (p. 42).

The author's analysis of the user interviews finds that the users prioritize the diversity principle, regardless of the way they find the collection of single libraries, and their own preferences in the library. In addition, depth is more desirable than an all‐round nature of the music collection. Another important finding is that: “[u]sers make as clear division between their own private tastes and preferences and more general service principles as do librarians” (p. 50).

The book outlines three interpretative repertoires of the music library. The first is the general education repertoire, which focuses on the library from the viewpoint of education and study. Important cues in this repertoire are basic repertory (or basic collection) and quality over demand. Precedence is given to retrospective selection, where the central material is the “history of music”. Classical music is considered as representing heritage of Western humanistic civilization, and regarded as most important. In this repertoire music librarians: “by virtue of their professional training, are understood to have the ability to distinguish quality music from surface music” (p. 53). A central perspective in the general education repertoire is the historical perspective on collection work, which include focus on long‐term goals and needs.

In the second repertoire, the alternative, the music library's function is to supplement other music provision channels. Quality is linked with experimentality and novel phenomena, and “counter culture” and marginal music is prioritized in this repertoire. One of the main purposes for the music library in this repertoire, as in the general education repertoire, is to broaden the user's horizon, but the education of the user's are applied differently.

The third interpretative repertoire of the music library is the demand repertoire. In this repertoire the collection is grounded on knowledge concerning musical behavior, this requires knowledge about the community to be served. According to the author: “[t]he demand repertoire is applied when collection is approached from the point of view of musical tastes and musical interests” (p. 58). The primary goal of the library in this repertoire is to satisfy the user's needs and the: “… librarians’ professional competence consists of the ability to analyze and identify specific user and audience groups and their needs” (p. 62).

In the second half of the book, Talja places the repertoires of the music library into the broader contexts of large‐scale theories of culture, art and civilization. This is done through a concrete lens: library users’ interpretation of the current state of music culture. The viewpoint of the general education repertoire is further developed in the common culture repertoire. In the same way, the alternative repertoire is further developed and cast within the consumer culture repertoire and the demand repertoire in the mosaic culture repertoire.

Through the investigation of the different repertoires Talja uncovers the fact that important concepts in library discourses take on new meanings in the different repertoires (the different repertoires also use some different categories and concepts in the description of music, user groups and so on). Concepts such as quality, diversity, music culture, institutional culture, popular, etc. are defined and understood distinctly in the three repertoires. Historical modes of thought are, according to the author, the main reason behind the different conceptualization of the library and of the culture in the different repertoires. The author concludes that the library looks like a different institution when approached from different angles:

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  the user‐centered library;

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  the institutional supporting education and study; and

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  the library of alternative views.

The author emphasizes that: “[t]he expression historical form of thought refers to the fact that in reality – in talk and texts – repertoires always appear as intermingled fragments. We never find discourses as such, we find pieces and instances of discourses, usually mixed with other discourses” (p. 200). The repertoires exist side by side and are intermingled in the users’ talk about the library (its role and so on). Even though one repertoire is dominating in one historical epoch, it does not disappear when a new repertoire take over as the dominant in the library. Talja concludes that: “[n]o solid and coherent library or cultural political line or worldview exist, because the different repertoires complement each other. They are relevant and used in specific discussions contexts” (pp. 201‐202).

This book is a product of scholarly and thorough effort by the author. It is accomplished both in its use of the discourse analytic method and the treatment of the empirical data. The book has a good structure and the argumentation is easy to follow. Even though the author's sympathy for the mosaic culture repertoire, or the user‐centered paradigm shines through (something the author admits), she manages to keep an “objective” perspective while being deeply immersed in her subject. The author makes critical remarks to all three interpretative repertoires, for example, that the concept of quality in the common culture repertoire is not defined or that in general ethical principles are taken for granted in the different repertoires.

The author points out that: “[u]sers’ views of how public libraries should operate, of what they regard as good service and selection principles, have received surprisingly little attention” (p. 44). Given this, the book performs pioneering work in the library and information science research field. In this context, a novel feature of the investigation is that the author does not clearly separate between public view of library, art, culture, civilization etc. and “expert's” view. The reason behind this is the author's findings in her investigations: that people's view is part of broader cultural narratives that are shared among both “experts” and the general public.

Whether the reader agrees with the basic assumptions of the study or not, this work is an important contribution not only to the research on music library, but also to research on the public library in general. The book is important because it sheds light on hidden world views, ethic principles, and values, etc., which exist in the music library community, both with regard to collection development and the library's role. In sum Music, Culture, and the Library: An Analysis of Discourses is highly recommended to anyone interested in the subject, and it provides a valuable addition to the research on music and the library.