The Sheet Music Consortium is a group of libraries working toward the goal of building an open collection of digitized sheet music using the Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting. Harvested metadata about sheet music in participating collections is hosted by UCLA Digital Library Program, which provides an access service via this metadata to sheet music records at the host libraries. Data providers have chosen to catalog their sheet music in different ways, but a large proportion of the original sheets in participating collections has been digitized, allowing users direct access to the music itself and in many cases covers and advertisements that offer evidence of the cultural context in which the songs were published. This project has been generously supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services . The Sheet Music Consortium is actively seeking to harvest metadata from significant sheet music collections worldwide. Inquiries and expressions of interest can be sent to sheetmusicconsortium@library.ucla.edu . There are two ways in which metadata is added to the Sheet Music Consortium site: through direct harvesting from an Open Archives Initiative (OAI) metadata provider; or through the creation of an OAI Static Repository and registration of that repository on the Consortium's Static Repository Gateway. "The Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting (OAI-PMH) is a mechanism for repository interoperability. Data Providers are repositories that expose structured metadata via OAI-PMH. Service Providers then make OAI-PMH service requests to harvest that metadata. OAI-PMH is a set of six verbs or services that are invoked within HTTP". The Sheet Music Consortium is an example of an OAI Service Provider, and the contributing sheet music collections are examples of OAI Data Providers. (The terms "Service Provider" and "Data Provider" are technically the software components that provide the communication between the contributing repositories and the aggregating repository the Consortium but can equally well be applied to the organizations themselves.) The easiest way to make metadata harvestable is to use a digital collection management system that includes an OAI Data Provider as part of the package. Examples of digital asset management systems that support OAI include ContentDM from OCLC, Digitool from Ex Libris, and open source systems such as DSpace. Another, harder, way is to use OAI open source software to "build your own." Examples can be found on the OAI Tools page: http://www.openarchives.org/pmh/tools/tools.php . Creating an OAI-compliant XML file that contains all the metadata records for the collection. This file is called a "Static Repository," and it is the source from which repositories can harvest metadata records. (The repository is "static" because, as a file rather than as a database, it remains unchanged until the data is changed, either manually or by rewriting it.) The SMC team at Indiana University have developed an easy-to-use Metadata Mapping Tool that allows managers to map metadata from simple file formats such as Excel and plain text to MODS, Dublin Core, or Qualified Dublin Core and to create a "Static Repository": http://www.dlib.indiana.edu/smcmigrator/ Registering the "Static Repository" on a Web site known as a "Static Repository Gateway." The "Gateway" software registers the location of Static Repositories and allows OAI Data Harvesters to query and harvest metadata from the "Static Repository" in the same way it would from a dynamic repository (e.g. database, content management system). The SMC team at UCLA have developed a Static Repository Gateway at which managers can register their Static Repositories: http://oaigateway.library.ucla.edu/ In 2009, the Institute of Museum and Library Services awarded a National Leadership Grant for the creation of the Next Generation Sheet Music Consortium. The University of California, Los Angeles, and its partner, Indiana University, are developing tools and services to meet the needs of both data providers--libraries, museums, historical societies, and other curators of sheet music collections--and users of sheet music--musicologists, performers, cultural and art historians, etc.--as identified from a needs analysis that was funded by a 2007 planning grant from the IMLS National Leadership Grant program. Tools and services developed in the project will enable institutions with limited technical knowledge to participate in the metadata aggregation service of the Sheet Music Consortium and will provide users with a richer set of services, including the ability to contribute structured metadata to the collection, write annotations, and link to related materials of interest across Consortium collections. In addition, cataloging guidelines and tools will be developed to support and encourage standardized descriptive practices and facilitate merging and downloading of metadata records from the Consortium's Web site. The following sheet music collections are currently accessible through the Sheet Music Consortium portal. See the Participation link above to learn how collections are made accessible through this site. Sheet Music Metadata Guidelines These guidelines provide direction on the creation of descriptive metadata elements, with the intent of establishing a common understanding and set of practices across institutions participating in the Sheet Music Consortium. Following these guidelines will assist contributing institutions in providing consistent metadata that accurately and adequately describes sheet music collections, and facilitates user discovery and understanding of these resources. Title Metadata Titles are an extremely important access point for digital library resources, and are frequently used in brief record displays to assist end users in deciding whether to investigate a resource further.  As such, a Title for every resource is required, according to these guidelines. It is recommended catalogers supply, in addition to the main title of the piece, as many of the following title types as is possible or practical in order of importance. General Guidelines for formatting Title metadata When supplying any "Title" metadata use the following rules: Do not include initial definite or indefinite articles in the title. Capitalize the first word and any proper nouns, but no other words.  Include subtitles separated from the main title by space, colon, space, or copy the form and punctuation from existing library catalog records. Title Required: Y DEFINITION: A word or phrase that names the resource being described. GUIDELINES for use: A "Title" is required according to these guidelines.  Titles may be transcribed or supplied. Transcribe titles directly from the item being cataloged. If there is no title inscribed on the resource, a title may be constructed by the metadata contributor, supplied by the creator or the owning institution, or taken from a reference work or another reliable source. When the title is supplied, consider adding a "Note" describing the source of the title.  In supplying a title, consider expectations of end users for naming of resources. If supplying a title, consider using " First Line " or " First Line of Chorus " if either one of those would be recognizable to an end user. First Line DEFINITION: The "First Line" data is a direct transcription of the first line of lyrics appearing in the song. GUIDELINES for use: Often end users may not know the title proper of a piece of music yet are familiar with the first line of lyrics, or believe the first line to be the title proper of the piece of music.  Define the end of the "line" based on your judgment as to what should be searched and displayed to users.  First Line of Chorus DEFINITION: The "first line of chorus" data is a direct transcription of the first line of the chorus (refrain) appearing in the song. GUIDELINES for use: Alternatively, end users may believe the first line of the chorus to be the title proper of the piece of music. Define the end of the "line" based on your judgment as to what should be searched and displayed to users.  Alternative Title DEFINITION: The "alternative title" data is used for other titles not covered elsewhere in the metadata record. GUIDELINES for use: Alternative titles may come from any source, including titles presented on the item that differ from the title proper and any other forms of title the cataloger deems important to record. Include here translated titles that appear on the resource.  Title of Larger Work DEFINITION: The "title of larger work" data is used when the item being cataloged is known to be one part of a larger work with a known title. GUIDELINES for use: When possible, use the form of the title found in the Library of Congress Name Authority File (LCNAF), found through the OCLC authority file, or, if your institution does not have OCLC access, from < http://authorities.loc.gov/ >.  Otherwise, transcribe the title of larger work directly from the item being cataloged. Series Title DEFINITION: The "series title" data is used to record a named series to which the item being cataloged belongs. GUIDELINES for use: Values will be generally transcribed from series statements on the item being cataloged. Uniform Title DEFINITION: A Uniform Title (also known as a Work Title) is a specific cataloger-created title as prescribed by the rules in AACR2. It is used to indicate clearly the musical work represented in a piece of sheet music. GUIDELINES for use: Uniform Titles are particularly useful in cases where a song has been published under multiple titles or is part of a well-known larger work such as a musical. Institutions that frequently catalog music and have expertise in creating Uniform Titles might choose to include them in Sheet Music Consortium records for the purpose of providing additional title access; most other institutions would likely choose not to attempt to provide Uniform Titles.  Name Metadata Although supplying "Name" metadata is not required, it is highly recommended that names be supplied if they are available. End users often need to search for and collocate all records associated with a particular person.  However, if name data of the work is listed as "unknown" or "anonymous," do not include those terms as Name metadata, consider instead including such information under notes. Guidelines for creating Name Metadata Using inverted name order enables your data to be browsed by end users.  Use the following rules to enter Name metadata in inverted form: 1. When recording the chosen name, use inverted order. For example, "Smith, David Q." or "Jones, Chas." Only include a period at the end of the name if it concludes with an initial or abbreviation. 2. Use the fullest form of the name you can find on the item. For example, if the cover says "D. Smith," and the first page of music says "David Q. Smith," use David Q. Smith as the name recorded. If only an abbreviated name appears, use the abbreviated name, for example "Chas. Jones." If only a last name appears, enter only the last name. If you are interested in using a controlled name authority file, use name forms from the Library of Congress Name Authority File (LCNAF) < http://authorities.loc.gov/ >. If no match is found in LCNAF, enter names according to the rules outlined above. Composer DEFINITION: "Composer" metadata is used to record the name of individuals or corporate bodies responsible for creating the musical content of the work being cataloged. Arranger DEFINITION: "Arranger" metadata is used to record the name of individuals or corporate bodies responsible for the transforming the musical content of the work being cataloged from its original form, genre, instrumentation, etc., to another for publication. In an arrangement the musical substance remains essentially unchanged. Lyricist DEFINITION: "Lyricist" metadata is used to record the name of an individual or corporate body responsible for creating the lyrics or text of the work being cataloged. Performer DEFINITION: "Performer" metadata is used to record the name of an individual or corporate body indicated on the item being cataloged as a known performer of the work. Dedicatee DEFINITION: "Dedicatee" metadata is used to record the name of an individual or corporate body to whom the work or publication is dedicated. Do not us record information about handwritten dedications printed on an item after publication; use "Note" for this purpose instead. Other Name DEFINITION: "Other name" metadata is used to record the name of an individual or corporate body responsible for the creation of the item being cataloged that is deemed important but not appropriate for use in any other "Name" or "Publication" data. Do not record individuals or corporate bodies named in lyrics; use " Name as Subject " for this purpose instead. Cover Artist Information Cover art can be an important access point for some end users, especially because publishers contract such work out, sometimes to artists of some repute.  Engraver, Lithographer or Artist metadata could be used by end users to collocate all the cover art produced by a particular artist. Some cover artists sign with a symbol (one illustrator however uses a rose symbol, enter as "rose symbol"), which are readily transcribed as the letter(s) with "symbol" amended to the entry. Cover Engraver DEFINITION: "Engraver" metadata is used to record the name of an individual or corporate body responsible for the cover engraving on the publication being cataloged. Cover Lithographer DEFINITION: Use "Lithographer" to record the name of an individual or corporate body responsible for the cover lithography on the publication being cataloged. Cover Artist DEFINITION: "Artist" metadata is used to record the name of an individual or corporate body responsible for the cover art on the publication being cataloged. Publication Metadata Publication metadata allows end users to find the publisher and origin of a piece of music. Publisher Name DEFINITION: Those responsible for the physical production and dissemination, of the resource. GUIDELINES for use: Record under "Publisher Name" the named entity determined to be the publisher or originator for a resource. Give the name of a publisher in the shortest form in which it can be understood, yet retain parts of the name required to differentiate between publishers that have similar names. Each item may be connected with multiple publishers, repeat for each recorded publisher name that appears on the resource.  If no publication name information can be found on the resource do not record anything here.  Publisher Place DEFINITION: The name of the place where a resource has been published. GUIDELINES for use: Record the resource's place of publication as printed on the resource, being as specific as possible. Repeat for each recorded place name.  If no publication place information can be found on the resource do not record anything here.   Subject Metadata Subject metadata is an important access point for end users to find all the songs about a given subject. This is a common way end users want to access the Sheet music collection. Guidelines for creating subject terms If creating terms, try to be as unambiguous as possible. If a homograph (multiple meanings for one spelling of a word) must be used, provide a paranthetical note for the domain to which the term belongs (e.g. mercury (metal), Mercury (planet), or Mercury (Roman deity)).  Additionally, if a singular object is depicted use the plural form of its term (e.g. picture of one cow, use: "Cows," or picture of a goose, use: "Geese"). If a controlled vocabulary for subject terms is desired, the recommendation is to take the form of the subject term from a standard subject thesaurus, such as the Library of Congress Thesaurus for Graphical Materials I: Subject Terms (TGM I) < http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/tgm1/ >. Topical Subject DEFINITION: In a song with lyrics "Topical Subject" is used to record what topics occur in the song's lyrics.  GUIDELINES for use: Use "Topical Subject" to capture what the lyrics are about (what concepts appear in the lyrics, and any object references, which are not people, places, or " Temporal Subjects " ).  Record names of battles and wars here instead of in " temporal subject ." Name as Subject DEFINITION: "Name as Subject" is used to record a personal or corporate name that is the subject of a song's lyrics. GUIDELINES for use: Use "Name as Subject" to record those names which appear in a songs lyrics that an end user might locate all songs which share a reference to a common person or entity.  (e.g. Charles Lindburgh or Wrigley's Gum).  Form/Genre/Style DEFINITION: "Form/Genre/Style" may be used to record the class or category of music, including the musical style(s) of a work. Form is often described as the organizing element in music, or the historically or functionally specific kind of material. GUIDELINES for use: The notions of form, genre, and style are strongly intertwined, and are particularly so for music materials. Form implies structural information, such as Rondo or Minuet. Genre implies certain rhythmic, tempo, or instrumentation patterns, such as Bluegrass or Bebop. Style is perhaps less well defined; however, the term resonates with many as a way of describing and providing access to music. Form, genre, and style are common means of accessing music collections, and as such every effort should be made to provide appropriate terms in these categories in records contributed to the Sheet Music Consortium. A music component of the thesaurus Library of Congress Genre/Form Terms for Library and Archival Materials (LCFGT) is being developed < http://www.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/musicterms.html >, and may be used as a controlled vocabulary. Alternately, contributors should feel free to use whatever terms are most familiar to them and/or provide good intellectual access for their users. Temporal Subject DEFINITION: The "Temporal Subject" metadata is used to record a named time period relevant to the item being cataloged. GUIDELINES for use: Named time periods can include centuries, eras, stylistic periods, and seasons.  Use terms, which either appear in a songs lyrics, or named time periods, which the cataloger believes the piece of music is relevant to (e.g. Gilded Age or Belle Époque).  Despite occurring over a period of years, wars and battles are topical subjects; record the names of battles and wars under " Topical Subject " rather than "Temporal Subject."  Instrumentation DEFINITION: A listing of the performing forces called for by a particular piece of sheet music, including both voices and external instruments. GUIDELINES; Sheet music typically requires performing forces of some combination of voice, keyboard instruments (as solo or accompaniment) and chordal string instruments. In library cataloging, instrumentation is commonly referred to as "medium of performance." For records contributed to the Sheet Music Consortium, listing individual instruments separately in repeated fields is preferred, although textual statements of medium of performance such as "Songs (Medium voice) with piano" are permissible when metadata pre-exists in that form and it it not reasonable to supplement or replace these statements with separate statements of instrumentation. When several accompanying instruments are listed as alternatives for accompaniment under a vocal line, it is best practice to include each of them in the record shared with the Sheet Music Consortium, for enhanced retrieval capability. Place-name Subject DEFINITION: "Place Name Subject" is used to record named countries, states, provinces, counties, and cities associated with the music and lyrics of the item being cataloged. GUIDELINES for use: Use "Place-name Subject" to record the names of political geographic divisions that are named within a song's lyrics or associated with a piece of music. (For publication information, enter under " Publisher Place ").  Enter the name of the location as it appears on the item. Other Geographic Subject DEFINITION: The optional "Other Geographic Subject" metadata is used to record named geographic places that are not countries, states, provinces, counties, or cities associated with the music and lyrics of the item being cataloged. GUIDELINES for use: Use "Other Geographic Subject" to record the names of any (real or fictional) geographic place names that are named within a song's lyrics or associated with a piece of music.(For publication information under " Publisher Place ").  Enter the name of the location as it appears on the item. Local Subject Definition: "Local Subject" is used to record subject terms meaningful to the holding institution. GUIDELINES for use : Use terms from local controlled lists, terms assigned by collectors, or other subject terms associated with the local collection's metadata record which haven't yet been used elsewhere in this metadata record. Cover Subject DEFINITION: "Cover Subject" is used to record the topical content of the image depicted on the cover of the item being cataloged. GUIDELINES for use: Cover Subject is useful for end users to find similar topics depicted on sheet music covers. Use the Cover Subject to capture both what the cover art is about (concept), and what it is of (descriptive), as applicable.  Identification Numbers Identification numbers are useful to include in metadata records for sheet music. Users sometimes search on plate numbers and other standard numbers associated with publishing, but perhaps more importantly they allow two records for pieces of sheet music to be compared by researchers or programmatically for de-duplication purposes. Some types of standard numbers that are generally useful in metadata records are plate numbers, publisher numbers, catalog numbers, and call numbers. Plate Number DEFINITION: The Sheet Music Consortium adopts the AACR2 definition of a sheet music plate number, as distinct from the publisher number: "A numbering designation assigned to an item by a music publisher, usually printed at the bottom of each page, and sometimes appearing also on the title page. It may include initials, abbreviations, or words identifying a publisher and is sometimes followed by a number corresponding to the number of pages or plates." GUIDELINES for use: It is good practice to record a plate number in a sheet music metadata record whenever one appears on the item. Transcribe the number as it appears on the item. Publisher Number DEFINITION: The Sheet Music Consortium adopts the AACR2 definition of a sheet music publisher number, as distinct from the plate number: "A numbering designation assigned to an item by a music publisher, appearing normally only on the title page, the cover, and/or the first page of music. It may include initials, abbreviations, or words identifying the publisher." GUIDELINES for use: It is good practice to record a publisher number in a sheet music metadata record whenever one appears on the item. Transcribe the number as it appears on the item. Catalog Number DEFINITION: An identifying number for a musical composition assigned by the composer, publisher or researcher. GUIDELINES for use: Catalog numbers are used primarily with prolific classical composers to uniquely identify specific works. Two forms are common: opus numbers and thematic catalog numbers. When provided, enter the number together with a designation of its type, e.g., "op. 62" or "K. 561". Call Number DEFINITION: An institution's local identifier indicating the physical location of the item within the collection. GUIDELINES for use: In the Sheet Music Consortium environment, call numbers are useful for online patrons when contacting your institution for more information about a piece of sheet music they've found at the the Consortium site. When recorded in Sheet Music Consortium records, enter the number using spacing and punctuation according to local practice. Relational Identifier Metadata Relational identifiers are provided when necessary to provide linking entries to related items. The fields below specify the particular relationships between the items. General Guidelines for formatting Relational Identifier metadata Identifiers may consist of local or institutional identifiers, International Standard Serial Numbers (ISSN), International Standard Book Numbers (ISBN), etc. Preceding Item DEFINITION: Identifier for a related item that is the immediate predecessor of the resource in a chronological relationship. Normally used for continuing resources such as serial publications. GUIDELINES for use: Best practice is to include the title of the immediate predecessor, as well as an identifier (such as an ISSN) for the immediate predecessor. Suceeding Item DEFINITION: Identifier for a related item that is the immediate successor of the resource in a chronological relationship. Normally used for continuing resources such as serial publications. GUIDELINES for use: Best practice is to include the title of the immediate successor, as well as an identifier (such as an ISSN) for the immediate successor. Original Item DEFINITION: Identifier for the original item from which the resource was derived. GUIDELINES for use: Best practice is to include the title of the original item, as well as an identifier (such as a local or institutional identifier, publisher's number, etc.) for the original item. Host Item DEFINITION: Identifier of the host item for the constituent unit in a vertical relationship. This information allows users to locate the physical piece that contains the component part described in the record. GUIDELINES for use: Best practice is to include the title of the host item, as well as an identifier (such as a local or institutional identifier, publisher's number, etc.) for the host item. Constitutent Item DEFINITION: Identifier of a constituent part that has been described separately. This information allows users to located a related unit of the resource, particularly when it has been physically separated from the item of which it is considered a part. GUIDELINES for use: Best practice is to include the title of the constituent item, as well as an identifier (such as a local or institutional identifier, publisher's number, etc.) for the constituent item. Other Version of Item DEFINITION: Identifier of a related version of the resource described in the record, such as translation in another language. GUIDELINES for use: Best practice is to include a description of the other version, its title, as well as an identifier (such as a local or institutional identifier, publisher's number, etc.) for the other version. Other Format of Item DEFINITION: Identifier of a different format of the resource described in the record, such as a microform reproduction. GUIDELINES for use: Best practice is to include a description of the other format, its title, as well as an identifier (such as a local or institutional identifier, publisher's number, etc.) for the other format. Notes Metadata The Notes metadata can be used for information that might be useful for an end user's search, or to provide more complete information that hasn't already been captured in this record. Notes DEFINITION: The "Note" metadata is used to record information that supplements information in the rest of the metadata record. GUIDELINES for use: Be judicious in using "Note;" important information about the resource should be captured the appropriate Sheet Music Consortium metadata.  Notes may be used to provide additional terms for potential matching in a keyword search, provide more information about the item to end-users, or record any other information the cataloger deems appropriate.  Repeat as needed; capturing just one concept per use. Examples of information that may be appropriate for "Note" metadata would be information about key, the number of copies held by your institution, source of title (if not from the piece itself), etc.   Date Information Date information is helpful for end users to understand which era a piece of music might belong, based on its publication or date it was written.  Usually a date is associated with point of time in the life cycle of the resource, usually its creation, publication, or printing. Guidelines for creating Date metadata Usually, date information can be derived from the resource itself. Any other reliable date source is acceptable, such as documentation related to the resource, etc.  Provide the date in the four digit year format (YYYY).  For example, a work copyrighted or published in 1925 enter: 1925.  Where exact dates are unknown, metadata contributors should provide a range of possible dates for the resource, such as the decade or century in which it was created or published.  When a date is cataloger-supplied, indicate this through the use of a date range(described below) rather than inserting characters such as "ca.", brackets or a question mark as part of the date string. The format for a date range is the four-digit year for the decade/century begin, followed by a slash( / ) and the close of the decade/century close date. When only a decade is known, enter a date range for the entire decade (e.g. for the 1930s enter: 1930/1939). When only a century is known, enter a date range for the entire century (e.g. for the 19th century enter: 1800/1899). If the metadata encoding scheme supports it and, when a precise date cannot be determined from the resource yet a date can be inferred from the item (e.g. a piece references World War 1, a publication date later than 1914 can be inferred) give a date in the format supported by the encoding scheme. Date DEFINITION: "Date" Metadata holds the date an item was copyrighted or published.  Date of Work DEFINITION: The "Date of Work" records the date the piece of music was written. GUIDELINES for use: Consider providing a "Date of Work" when this date is significantly different from the date published.  For example, when a piece of music is a republishing of a traditional tune or a song written at an earlier time.  Language Metadata Language metadata records the language(s) primary to understanding the resource. It is helpful to users who might want to limit by language, for example to see only French language sheet music. Language Definition: Use "Language" to record the language of the lyrics of the item being cataloged. GUIDELINES for use : Record the language of the lyrics of the item being cataloged in natural language terms (e.g. use "German" for German "Italian" for Italian. No abbrievations, e.g. "Ger" for German).  Also, use English language terms to encode this metadata (e.g. "French" for French, not "Français").  Use your judgment as to whether a language access point is important if words in a language appear only a small number of times.  For multiple languages repeat as many times a necessary. Optionally, use the ISO 639-3 code for the language found in the MARC Code List for Languages < http://www.loc.gov/marc/languages/language_code.html >.