UCLA Walter H. Rubsamen Music Library

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| image1 = Music Library Shelves in the Powell Library Building.jpg

| caption1 = Music Library Shelves in the Powell Library Building

| image2 = Architectural rendering of Schoenberg Music Building.jpg

| caption2 = Architectural rendering of Schoenberg Music Building

| image3 = Women of the African Music and Dance Ensemble performing during the Ethno Spring Music Festival.jpg

| caption3 = Women of the African Music and Dance Ensemble performing during the Ethnomusicology Spring Music Festival

| image4 = Exterior view of Schoenberg Music Building.jpg

| caption4 = Exterior view of Schoenberg Music Building

| image5 = Walter H. Rubsamen Music Library reading room.jpg

| caption5 = Students studying in the Walter H. Rubsamen Music Library reading room

| image6 = Jam_session.jpg

| caption6 = Jam session with the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz in the Walter H. Rubsamen Music Library

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The music library began in an east-west corridor of Powell Library in 1942. The starting collection consisted of roughly 8,000 orchestral and choral scores inherited from the Federal Music Project as well as 3,000 books and scores transferred from the main University Library.{{cite journal |last1=Fry |first1=Stephen M. |title=The Music Library |journal=UCLA Librarian |date=March–April 1978 |volume=XXXI |issue=3–4 |page=13 |url=https://archive.org/details/uclalibrarian31/page/n7/mode/2up |access-date=20 July 2024}} The collection was first managed by Leon Strashun, who took a special interest in binding and maintaining the collection's music scores until his retirement in 1946.{{Cite journal |date=March 23, 1956 |title=The New Music Library |url=https://archive.org/details/uclalibrarianv9to10univ/page/n91/mode/2up |journal=UCLA Librarian |volume=9 |issue=13 |pages=79–80}} In 1947, Ruth Doxsee took over as music librarian.{{Cite archival metadata|author=Philip B. Bantin, Dan Luckenbill, Dennis Bitterlich, Ida L. Rascol, Tom Philo, and Katharine A. Lawrie|date=November 1982|url=https://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/c8gx4ct0/entire_text/|title=Finding Aid: Library. Special Collections. Administrative files.|repository=UCLA Library Special Collections|accessdate=September 1, 2024|location=Los Angeles, California}} Doxsee helped to host weekly concerts of recorded music for library staff.{{Cite journal |date=November 10, 1949 |title=Music for the Staff |url=https://archive.org/details/uclalibrarianv3to4univ/page/n17/mode/2up |journal=UCLA Librarian |volume=3 |issue=3 |pages=3}} She also served on an interdepartmental committee dedicated to handling the "many special technical challenges" that arose while cataloging the music collection.{{Cite journal |date=October 16, 1947 |title=Committee on Cataloging the Music Library |url=https://archive.org/details/uclalibrarianv1to2univ/page/n5/mode/2up |journal=UCLA Librarian |volume=1 |issue=1 |pages=1–2}} When the music collection's corridor was needed for transit to the library's new east wing, the music collection was moved to a room at the south end of the library's west wing. As the collection grew, this space was increasingly cramped, and the Department of Music quickly developed a need for a dedicated music library space.

In 1956, the music collection moved from its wing in Powell Library to a newly-built space in the music building. The new space featured two levels of stacks (estimated to hold 25,000 volumes, with room for future expansion), a dedicated service counter and catalog, and ten listening rooms equipped with sound systems. When the new music library opened its doors, the collection was numbered at roughly 36,000. By 2021, that number had grown to 400,000 items.{{Cite journal |last=Guise |first=Janneka |date=May 31, 2021 |title=Report on the Music Collection Assessment Summit |journal=CAML Review |volume=49 |issue=1 |pages=44–48 |doi=10.25071/1708-6701.40394|doi-access=free }}

On February 27, 1976, the library was named after Walter H. Rubsamen, professor emeritus of the UCLA Department of Music.{{Cite journal |date=1976 |title=Walter H. Rubsamen Music Library Dedication |url=https://cdn.ymaws.com/www.musiclibraryassoc.org/resource/resmgr/chapter_cc/newsletters/13.pdf |journal=SCMLA Newsletter |issue=13}} Rubsamen was an important figure in developing the collection at the music library, taking a special interest in cultivating a ballad opera collection and bringing English music materials to the Clark Library.{{Cite newsletter |date=November–December 1976 |title=Walter H. Rubsamen Music Library at UCLA |url=https://cdn.ymaws.com/www.musiclibraryassoc.org/resource/collection/31947589-2EE5-41CC-8DFF-DD22285A481E/027PDF.pdf |access-date=September 1, 2024 |magazine=Music Library Association Newsletter |page=2 |issue=27}}

The music library's collection has grown in conjunction with the music program at UCLA, and in particular the departments of musicology and ethnomusicology. In 1980, the collection's main focus was on music from the 13th to 17th centuries to suit the needs of a musicology faculty with a focus on historical methods. As the Musicology and Ethnomusicology Departments became more interested in cultural critiques of music in many genres and traditions, the collection focused on popular music materials in order to meet students' research needs in classes like "Gay and Lesbian Perspectives in Pop Music," "History of Electronic Dance Music", and "Cultural History of Rap."{{Cite journal |last=Theil |first=Gordon |date=2003 |title=The Challenge of Supporting Current Music Research and Instruction |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23510652 |journal=Fontes Artis Musicae |volume=50 |issue=2 |pages=106–113|jstor=23510652 }}

Developed by music librarian Matthew Vest in 2020, the Contemporary Music Score Collection consists of digital open access scores published as part of the Contemporary Score Edition series, the first open access new music series published by a library.{{Cite journal |title=Contemporary Music Score Collection |url=https://escholarship.org/uc/uclamusicscores |website=eScholarship}}{{Cite journal |last=Vest |first=Matthew |date=June 2020 |title=Notes for Notes |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/27079694 |journal=Notes |volume=76 |issue=4 |pages=577–578 |doi=10.1353/not.2020.0046 |jstor=27079694 }} The collection includes music by UCLA students, faculty, and scores commissioned by the Hugo and Christine Davise Fund.{{Cite web |title=Hugo and Christine Davise Fund for Contemporary Music |url=https://www.library.ucla.edu/about/programs/hugo-and-christine-davise-fund-for-contemporary-music |website=UCLA Library}}

The Ella Fitzgerald Collection consists of roughly 46,000 pieces of sheet music from Fitzgerald's personal collection, as well as related correspondence.{{Cite journal |date=September 1998 |title=Notes for Notes |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/900347. |journal=Notes |volume=55 |issue=1 |pages=68–70 |jstor=900347 }} It is now housed in UCLA Performing Arts Special Collections.{{Cite web |title=Ella Fitzgerald collection of sheet music, 1897–1991 |url=https://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/tf2p300477/ |access-date=2024-07-21 |website=oac.cdlib.org}}

The music library has acquired various smaller collections over time. The Donovan Meher Collection focuses on rock music over a thirty year span, from roughly 1980-2010. Music librarian Callie Holmes helped curate The Southern California Punk Collection and the Los Angeles Hip Hop Collection, which include late 20th century popular music materials from the Southern California area.{{Cite journal |last=White |first=Sara |date=2019 |title=Best of Chapters Competition |url=https://cdn.ymaws.com/www.musiclibraryassoc.org/resource/collection/EF36C0DF-5954-4A46-B8FB-55C73A2BE86B/202PDF.pdf |journal=Music Library Association News Letter |issue=202 |pages=12}} Other rare items, including facsimiles, manuscript fragments, and sound recordings, are kept in the music library reading room cabinet.{{Cite web |title=Music Library Collections {{!}} UCLA Library |url=https://www.library.ucla.edu/collections/music-library-collections/ |access-date=2024-09-02 |website=www.library.ucla.edu}}

In 1973, the music library began taking on interns from UCLA's new Master's of Library & Information Science degree program, allowing students to gain on-the-job training by completing a large scale project in the music library over the span of several months.{{Cite journal |last=Berman |first=Marsha |date=1984 |title=New Eyes: The Intern in the Music Library |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23505519 |journal=Fontes Artis Musicae |volume=31 |issue=1 |pages=65–68|jstor=23505519 }}

The Rubsamen Music Library is known for hosting community events such as conferences, classes, and concerts, including an ongoing series of Jam Sessions in collaboration with students from the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz.{{Cite web |last=Ramsey |first=Will |date=2018-02-14 |title=Hancock Institute of Jazz |url=https://hancockinstitute.org/2018/02/feb16-ucla-jam/ |access-date=2024-07-21 |website=Hancock Institute of Jazz |language=en-US}} In 2012, music librarian David Gilbert began using the Hugo and Christine Davise Fund to support free admission for concerts by new music artists and organizations like the Lyris Quartet,{{Cite web |title=Jacaranda Presents Free Concert With Lyris Quartet {{!}} Culture Spot LA |url=https://culturespotla.com/jacaranda-presents-free-concert-with-lyris-quartet/ |access-date=2024-10-22 |website=culturespotla.com}} Gloria Cheng,{{Cite web |last=Swed |first=Mark |date=2013-05-02 |title=Piano Spheres to pay tribute to Leonard Stein with a free concert |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/culture/la-et-cm-piano-spheres-20130501-story.html |access-date=2024-10-22 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}} Piano Spheres, and wild Up.{{Cite web |title=Wild Up ensemble to host concert, feature top student composition |url=https://dailybruin.com/2015/04/22/wild-up-ensemble-to-host-concert-feature-top-student-composition |access-date=2024-10-22 |website=Daily Bruin}}

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Category:University of California

Category:Libraries in Los Angeles