Open Heritage? A Musical Case Study
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Date
2024-06-19
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International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA)
Abstract
While Open Access is now common sense for the academic library community – which by no means leaves us without unsolved issues – this discussion may have seemed less crucial in the research libraries field. Various features may explain such a discrepancy, which notably include a different legal environment as far as original unpublished material is concerned. This paper will go further in illustrating the “exotic” nature of OA in the heritage libraries universe, analyzing the constraints and projects of a specialized entity in a large national library: the Music department of Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF). Such a case study is especially illuminating on the OA discussion placed in a broader context, insofar as music – defined here primarily as written music – is tailored on a pattern that differs starkly from the one fitting printed books/journals, since its business model is based on collecting revenue streams of public performances and broadcasting. This drives usage practices in the reading room as well as rules applying to digitization and more generally the dissemination of content. On the other hand, such a constrained legal environment may seem at odds with the core missions of a national institution like BnF as an educating body servicing both professionals and specialists, but also outreaching to all types of publics. At the end of the day, far from the maddening crowd of specialized OA consortia, we’ll investigate here what is at stake for a music curator in charge of collecting archives; preserving musical manuscripts; acting as a facilitator to the research community; exhibiting rare items; or lecturing on unique scored masterworks – when he or she tries to translate the OA philosophy while abiding to strict laws et making sure original documents are with us forever. Furthermore, we may ask how such a delicate balance between fairness of access and seal of eternity may evolve in a remote access oriented, sustainability conscious, and IA driven environment. This, we will discover, may not be music to all ears, but could ring a bell to librarians wishing to stay in tune with various practices across the profession.
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Subject::Academic and research libraries, Subject::Open access, Subject::Music, Subject::Heritage