Music library of Greece "Lilian Voudouri"

Music Library of Greece ‘Lilian Voudouri’ was created under an initiative of the Friends of Music Society. Their vision was that the Library would act as a pool of information for music and the arts, capable of supporting a full program of research and education. The Library opened to the public in February 1997, and since then has functioned as an important center of study.

The Collections

Music Collection

The Library’s collection is constantly expanding and has a principle focus on western European music alongside all types of Greek music (ancient, Byzantine, traditional and contemporary). The collection is completed with material on world music and jazz, ancient Greek art, theater, dance, literature, philosophy and fine art. The Library’s holdings encompass books, audio recordings, musical scores, microforms, journals, concert programs, CD-ROMs and databases.

The Greek music archive

The Greek Music Archive was created in order to fulfill the requirement for an official body specializing in the collection, processing and documentation of all material relevant to Greek music, with the eventual goal of creating a center for the preservation and study of this material. The collection contains rare documents, manuscripts, archives and both current and historical publications, all related to ancient, Byzantine, traditional and contemporary Greek music. [http://www.mmb.org.gr/page/default.asp?la=2&id=22 Special collections] and the [http://www.mmb.org.gr/page/default.asp?la=2&id=23 Archives of Greek composers] and artists constitute a particularly significant part of this collection.

Library services

Searching through electronic catalogs

Concerns the [http://www.mmb.org.gr/megaro/page/default.asp?la=2&id=1728 Library Catalog] (OPAC), the [http://www.mmb.org.gr/megaro/page/default.asp?la=2&id=20 Greek Composers’ Archives] and the [http://www.mmb.org.gr/megaro/page/default.asp?la=2&id=17 List of Works] (listing the works of 150 Greek and foreign composers)

Access to electronic databases

The Library provides to its patrons free access to music and music-related electronic databases. The users can find articles, citations, abstracts, through [http://iimp.chadwyck.com/home.do IIMP] (International Index to Music Periodicals), [http://www.jstor.org JSTOR] and [http://www.rilm.org RILM] , refer to online music dictionaries such as [http://www.grovemusiconline.com Grove Music Online] and listen to all genres of music through [http://www.naxosmusiclibrary.com Naxos Music Library] .

Communication with the Library

Music Library of Greece “Lilian Voudouri”, offers the chance to long distance visitors to contact its staff by:
*sending emails with comments and suggestions
*asking reference questions through the Ask a Librarian services and
*joining its monthly Newsletter mailing list (temporarily only available in Greek)

Tetradio (e-journal)

In [http://www.mmb.org.gr/megaro/page/default.asp?la=2&id=24 Tetradio (Notebook)] one can find texts on music in relation to the Library’s collections. Tetradio is maintained and continuously updated by the Library’s staff. The authors teat musicological subjects in a comprehensible way aiming at a broader public, which they try to familiarize with the library’s collections.

Educational programs

Lecture series

Starting in the year 2000, the Library has organized an annual cycle of [http://www.mmb.org.gr/megaro/page/default.asp?la=2&id=30 lectures] as well as one-day conferences, with the participation of renowned figures from Greece and abroad.

Greek folk music instruments

As part of its educational activities the Library has published the CD-ROM ‘Greek Folk Music Instruments’. This is given away freely to schools and conservatories

Children's library

The children’s Library contains books and audiovisual material for children between five and ten years of age. It also hosts relevant education programs for these age groups.

Research programs

The documentation, study and promotion of the music and dance tradition of Greece

Beginning with Thrace and Eastern Macedonia, this program studied music, song and dance in their historical and cultural contexts. The material generated by the research has been digitized and is now available online in the form of a multimedia database.

Digitization of archives

Funded by the European Community program ‘Psiphis’ (a project of the European Community’s Information Society) the Library has digitized over 300,000 documents from the Archive of Greek Music, with a special focus on the valuable manuscripts (scores and texts) of Greek composers held in the collection.

Location, facilities, Working hours

Location

The Library is located in the new wing of the Athens Concert HallAddress: Vas. Sofias & Kokkali str. 1 Athens, 115 21 Greece Tel: [phone] Fax: [phone] Web: www.mmb.org.gr Email: [e-mail]

Facilities

The Library building has four levels. Two of these levels hold the Reading rooms, which cover a space of 940 sq. m and are able to host at least 100 readers

Working hours

The Library offers its materials and services free of charge. It is open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday from 10:00 until 16:45 and Wednesday until 19:00. The Library is closed at weekends, on official national holidays and for two weeks in the summer. In order to become a member of the Library, a reader should be over 15 years of age and able to produce their identity card or passport. The Library’s collections are available for use within the Library only.

References

*Christianopoulos, N. (2008) Mousikē Vivliothikē "Lilian Voudouri". "Diavazo" 481:136-38
*Merakos, S. (2008) Parousiasē tis Megalis Mousikis Vivliothikis tēs Ellados "Lilian Voudouri" Available at: http://features.classicalmusic.gr/article.php?id=974 [Accessed on: 18 April 2008]
*Magklikēs, H. (2008) Anoixe i Megalē Mousikē Vivliothikē sto Megaro, "Kathimerinē" 16/03/2008 Available at: http://news.kathimerini.gr/4dcgi/_w_articles_civ_1_16/03/2007_219684 [Accessed on 18 April 2008]

External links

* [http://www.mmb.org.gr Music Library of Greece "Lilian Voudouri"]
* [http://www.megaron.gr Athens Concert Hall]
* [http://iimp.chadwyck.com/home.do International Index to Music Periodicals]
* [http://naxosmusiclibrary.com Naxos Music Library]