Hale Library isn’t just a place for books — it’s a home for musical artifacts that educate, preserve culture and inspire new works.
K-State’s Hale Library’s vast collections span history, art, archaeology, theater, agriculture and more, but one of its most distinctive collections appeals not to the eye, but the ear.
The library’s music “vault” contains printed scores, video and audio recordings of performances, and books covering everything from music history to composer biographies.
A worldly collection
Beyond supporting the curriculum, the music collection plays a crucial role in preserving and elevating work by underrepresented musical artists.
In recent years, Thomas Bell, Hale librarian specializing in music, and George Gottschalk, department head of acquisitions and resource management, have collaborated with peer institutions to develop a discography of 21st century Indigenous music recordings from the U.S. and Canada.
“Global music has become more important to curriculum in the last decade or so, and we’ve made an effort to collect as much as we’ve been able to from non-Western sources, but including Indigenous American music,” said Bell. “We’re seeking to be respectful of the music, the intended purposes of the music and the rights of the creators.”
Another unique artifact in the music collection is a complete set of 185 vinyl records from “Heritage of the March,” a series never commercially released to the public.
Sound for generations
Hale Library’s music collection, an inspiration for music lovers near and far, goes beyond protecting the old.
“Our priority, as a library, is to support the teaching, learning and research of our faculty and students,” Bell said. “But also building collections that we think will be valuable over the long haul. Things that, over time, prove their importance; that will still be of high quality and have been impactful in their time, affecting the music that happened after them.”
To support K-State Libraries’ music collection, select “Library Acquisition Endowment” Donation · Kansas State University · GiveCampus
By Kate Ellwood
Curated from Curating Sound