Library users to gain access to music

A NEW scheme which will enable members of local libraries to access the music collections of some of the country’s largest libraries and archives was launched in Dublin yesterday by novelist and broadcaster Deirdre Purcell as part of Library Ireland Week.

Music PAL is a new cross-border initiative launched by the Committee on Library Co-operation in Ireland (Colico).

Under the scheme, library users will be able to apply for a Music PAL Access Card at their local library, which will then allow them to visit and make use of facilities at other libraries around the country.

Twenty-seven institutions are partaking in the scheme, including Trinity College Dublin, the Contemporary Music Centre in Dublin, the Cork School of Music, the Royal Irish Academy of Music and the RTÉ Sound Library and Archive.

Under the scheme, print materials such as scores and libretti will be made available by participating libraries, as well as online databases and audio-visual recordings.

Domitilla Fagan, secretary of Colico, said the scheme means library users who can demonstrate a genuine interest in a particular subject will gain access to the country’s best music archive resources, without the need for a reference letter. “It’s about opening up access to people who otherwise wouldn’t have had access to these resources . . .”

A sister-scheme, Cork PAL, was also launched yesterday by Minister for Education and Science Batt O’Keeffe at UCC’s Boole Library. This scheme will allow users of the card to access the main libraries and archives in Cork city and county.

The sixth annual Library Ireland Week commenced yesterday and will run until next Saturday. More than 200 events are taking place in libraries across the country this week as part of the event, which aims to celebrate and promote the work of librarians and libraries.