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Sharing Our Special Collections with the World:

an IMSLP Digitizing Project

By

James Procell, Music Librarian

University of Louisville

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What is IMSLP and the Petrucci Music Library?

• Stands for International Music Score Library Project

• Address: http://www.imslp.org

• Project to create online library of public domain music scores, based on the wiki principle.

• Launched Feb. 16, 2006.

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How many works are in IMSLP?

• 218,000 scores • 21,000 recordings

• 60,000+ works by 7,800+ composers

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Why IMSLP?

• Most widely-used PD score site.

• Google rankings.

• It is simple!

• IMSLP hosts a very large number of scores from other music libraries, including the Library of Congress.

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12-month IMSLP Site Statistics

• 40,866,144 visitors

• 298,055,702 page views

• 271,565,207 files downloaded

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How to contribute

• Similar to Wikipedia

• Anyone can contribute digitized scores in PDF format.

• Anyone can edit pages on the site.

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What do you need?

• Scanner (preferably an overhead book scanner.)

• We use a Konica Minolta PS5000C scanner.

• Adobe Photoshop.

• Adobe Acrobat Professional.

• Server space

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Ricasoli Collection• Private music library of the

Ricasoli families of Florence, Italy.

• Consists of more than 400 manuscripts and early prints by well-known composers, as well as lesser-known Florentine composers.

• Assembled between 1750 and 1860.

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Ricasoli Collection• Purchased between 1985 and 1987

by the University of Louisville, under the guidance of Robert Lamar Weaver.

• The collection has been microfilmed, as well as entered into the RISM A/II database.

• Approximately 40% of the collection has been added to IMSLP in 2012.

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Getting Started• Each score is scanned by student

worker and saved to server.

• Files are scanned as color photos at 300dpi, then saved as TIFF files using Adobe Photoshop.

• Student worker crops and cleans images.

• I combine scanned files to create a single PDF using Adobe Acrobat.

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After scanning• Score is cataloged in OCLC.

• Digitized score is added to IMSLP.

• Link to score in IMSLP is added locally the 856 field of the bibliographic record.

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Results of Digitization• ILL requests can be filled by providing

link to IMSLP.

• More than 15,000 page scanned so far.

• More than 18,000 downloads of scores from this collection so far this year on IMSLP.

• Increased access to our library’s unique collections.

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Strategy 3: Enhance access to materials held by the LibrariesObjective: Assess user experience relative to current search

and discovery toolsObjective: Implement appropriate tools and technologies

related to collection use and access

Strategy 4: Emphasize the Libraries’ unique research collections

Objective: Add to and enhance Digital Collections Objective: Acquire, preserve and provide access to new

collectionsObjective: Actively promote awareness and use of the

collections.

2012-2020 University Libraries Strategic Plan

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Future Plans• Continue scanning Ricasoli

collection and adding files to IMSLP. Projected completion date is early 2014.

• Actively seek to scan and add additional special collections to IMSLP.

• Create digital Ricasoli Collection website.

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For more detailed information on this collection