Music librarianship and creativity. The case of International Association of Music Libraries, Archives and Documentation Centres (IAML)

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1108/LM-09-2017-0100
Date12 November 2018
Pages553-568
Published date12 November 2018
AuthorCharilaos Lavranos
Subject MatterLibrary & information science,Librarianship/library management,HR in libraries,Library strategy,Library promotion
Music librarianship and creativity
The case of International Association of Music
Libraries, Archives and Documentation
Centres (IAML)
Charilaos Lavranos
Department of Archives, Library Science and Museology,
Ionian University, Corfu, Greece
Abstract
Purpose International Association of Music Libraries, Archives and Documentation Centres (IAML) aims
to promote activities and cooperation between music libraries worldwide. IAML configures policies affecting
to set up their working framework as well as music information services at national and international level.
Furthermore, IAMLs function promotes the role of music libraries linking the cultural life of every place,
fostering musical creativity. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to present the crucial role of IAMLs
function in enhancing musical creativity.
Design/methodology/approach The paper provides theoretical and practical issues on topics related to
music information employed for musical creativity in the context of music librarianship. It presents the
function of music information management organizations and especially that of IAML as a mechanism for
enhancing musical creativity, and at the same time it discusses suggestions and practices for the interrelation
between them. More specifically, it discusses perspectives about educational programs on information
literacy for musical creativity, the enhancement of the digital presence of all musical trends (the long tail to the
demand of music information services), the strengthening of the culture of openness to a wider scale and the
use of music information management software, as well as the linkage and stimulation of synergies between
music information management organizations for the benefit of various music communities.
Findings The outcomes of the study set up a theoretical connection between music librarianship issues and
musical creativity, in terms of identifying that musical creativity is directly linked to music information and to
the operation of the music libraries, and it can also be influenced by the availability of music information
services and the information profile of the musicians involved.
Originality/value The significance and originality of the study should be emphasized since it is the first
study providing theoretical and practical issues linking music librarianship with musical creativity.
Keywords Music information, Information seeking, Information management organizations,
International Association of Music Libraries, Archives and Documentation Centres (IAML),
Music librarianship, Musical creativity
Paper type Conceptual paper
Introduction
Library associations play a vital role in librarianship profession enhancement aiming at
improving the information service provision, and strengthening at the same time the role of
the librariesinternationally (Henczel,2014). The mission of library associations is based on the
development and the improvement of products and services providing practical solutions to
the problems of the rapidly changing information environment of our time, as well as of
excellence and innovation promotion(Ghosh, 2006). Moreover, the aim oflibrary associations
is the development,expansion and strengtheningof the professional knowledgeby promoting
the interests of librarians, as well as exchanging and disseminating views and information
between them (Thomas et al., 2010; Ahmadian Yazdi and Deshpande, 2013). Library
associations are comprised of groups of either general or specialized libraries which are
identified by subject, geographical distribution or both (Rosa and Storey, 2016). More
specifically, about music librarianship profession, crucial role plays the International
Association of Music Libraries, Archives and Documentation Centres (IAML) which aims to
promote activities and cooperation between music libraries (Wagstaff, 2000). IAML defines
Library Management
Vol. 39 No. 8/9, 2018
pp. 553-568
© Emerald PublishingLimited
0143-5124
DOI 10.1108/LM-09-2017-0100
Received 22 September 2017
Revised 12 February 2018
Accepted 15 February 2018
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/0143-5124.htm
553
Music
librarianship
and creativity
policies affecting music librariesworking framework establishment and music information
service provision at both the national and international level. Also, IAMLs function is to
promote the role of music libraries, linking the cultural life of every place and fostering
musical creativity for the general interest.
Regarding the concept of creativity, this refers to the production or invention of new
ideas about resolving or rewriting problems with a specific expected outcome (Newell and
Shaw, 1972; Hennessey and Amabile, 1988). According to Perkins (1981) and Weisberg
(1986), creativity is the process of applying existing knowledge, logical reasoning, memory
retrieval and visual imaging. Creativity as a concept must add value, whether it is the
production of new ideas or the recasting of existing ones; as a new idea is considered
creative only in the case that it adds value or implies a positive assessment (Higgins, 1999).
Furthermore, imagination, which involves the production of new ideas that were not before
available and the production of different modes of perception of events, deemed important
to meet creativity (Ogilvie, 1998). According to the above, creativity refers to the ability of
producing high-quality ideas that are both original and useful for everyday problems and
situations (Kaufman and Sternberg, 2007). It is a broader concept which is linked to the
everyday life and varies from person to person, enabling unlimited interpretations of
creative thinking and personal expression (Kaufman and Sternberg, 2006).
Musical creativity refers to various areas of musical creation (e.g. composition,
improvisation, interpretation), listening (e.g. for professional or amateur purposes,
recreation), as well as analysis approaches (e.g. systematic, intuitive, automatic) (Hickey,
2002). According to Hickey and Webster (2001),the creative process in music is described as
the thoughtthat takes place when a personplans to produce a creative productwhich could be
a result of intent or design; since originality without intention or design doesnot necessarily
imply a result as a creative product. Webster (1990, 2002) refers to the study of creative
thinking, focusing on the creative process and the role it plays in music. According to this
approach, creative thinking in music is perceived as a dynamic mental process which
alternates between divergent and convergent thinking, follows specific stages through time,
triggered by factors such as internal musical skills and external conditions, resulting in a
musical productwhich is new to the creator (Webster,2002). Furthermore,elements relating to
musical creativity can be found in Gardners (1983) theory of multiple intelligences and
specifically, musical intelligence. Gardner (1983) has identified that the mind comprises of
seven types of intelligence, each operating in a specific cultural domain: verbal-linguistic,
logical-mathematical, spatial, bodily kinesthetic, musical, interpersonal and intrapersonal.
Each intelligence has its own coreset of operations, supports specificactivities and highlights
the capacity to solve problems or to create products that are valued in one or more cultural
settings in terms of their different content (Gardner and Hatch, 1989). According to Gardner
(1983), musical intelligence involves skills in performance, composition and appreciation of
musical patterns (e.g. awareness, appreciation and use of sound, recognition of tonal and
rhythmic patterns, understanding the relationship between sound and feeling), containing
elements of musical creativity. It encompasses the abilities to recognize and produce musical
pitches, tones and rhythms with the appreciation of the forms of musical expressiveness,
allowing people to create, communicate and understand musical meanings.
Creative practices in music imply the exploitation of its multiple features, critical
thinking and continuous exposure to ideas and experiences that lead to personal discovery
as well as the creation of new musical knowledge (Webster, 2002). The analysis of these
complex creative processes in music provides a useful framework for understanding the
information behavior of people associated with it. There are several theoretical and
empirical approaches to the role of information seeking in the literature, in terms of reducing
uncertainty and meeting the information needs of musicians (Orio, 2006; Kostagiolas,
Lavranos, Korfiatis, Papadatos and Papavlasopoulos, 2015), as well as how this affects the
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