Sibley Music Library

The Sibley Music Library is the library of the Eastman School of Music of the University of Rochester in Rochester, NY. It was founded in 1904 by Hiram Watson Sibley (1845-1932), son of industrialist Hiram Sibley (1807-1888), and is said to be the largest university music library in the US.^[1]

History

Mr. Sibley was prompted to found a music collection after Elbert Newton, a Rochester, NY church organist, suggested to him that such a collection would be of value to Rochester's music-loving public. ^[2] The resulting collection was originally situated in Sibley Hall on the Arts College campus of the University of Rochester serving both the Rochester community and the University. In January, 1922, following an agreement by ESM founder George Eastman (1854-1932) and Hiram Watson Sibley, the collection was formally merged with the Eastman School of Music and was moved from its original home to the newly built Eastman School of Music in downtown Rochester.

By 1937 the library had outgrown its space within the Eastman School's main building, and an annex was erected at 44 Swan Street, the adjacent block. At that time the library was renamed from Sibley Musical Library to Sibley Music Library.^[3] Even after major renovations made to that building in 1976, the library once again outgrew its space, and eventually plans were made to erect a third building. The library moved to its current location in 1989 and now occupies 45,000 square feet (4,000 m²) on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th floors of the Miller Center building, formerly known as Eastman Place (re-named in 2004).^[4]

Head librarians

Barbara Duncan, the first librarian was also a founder of the Music Library Association. ^[5]

Barbara Duncan (1922-1947)
Ruth T. Watanabe (1947-1984)
Mary Wallace Davidson (1984-1999)
Dan Zager (1999-2021)
Jon Sauceda (2021- )

References

^ Pieterse, Janice Bullard (2014). Our work is but begun : a history of the University of Rochester, 1850-2005. Rochester, NY. p. 167. ISBN 978-1-58046-503-8. OCLC 883207099.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^ Lenti, Vincent (2004). For the Enrichment of Community Life: George Eastman and the Founding of the Eastman School of Music (Rochester, NY: Meliora Press.)
^ The Sibley Music Library: A World Collection University of Rochester library bulletin Volume XXXIII, 1980
^ Davidson, Mary Wallace. “The Research Collections of the Sibley Music Library of the Eastman School of Music, University of Rochester.” The Library Quarterly 64, no. 2 (April 1994): 177-194.
^ Women’s History Month: Honoring the Women of Sibley Music LibraryEastman School of Music.

External links

43°9′26.78″N 77°36′6.21″W / 43.1574389°N 77.6017250°W / 43.1574389; -77.6017250

[1] Pieterse, Janice Bullard (2014). Our work is but begun : a history of the University of Rochester, 1850-2005. Rochester, NY. p. 167. ISBN 978-1-58046-503-8. OCLC 883207099.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

[2] Lenti, Vincent (2004). For the Enrichment of Community Life: George Eastman and the Founding of the Eastman School of Music (Rochester, NY: Meliora Press.)

[3] The Sibley Music Library: A World Collection University of Rochester library bulletin Volume XXXIII, 1980

[4] Davidson, Mary Wallace. “The Research Collections of the Sibley Music Library of the Eastman School of Music, University of Rochester.” The Library Quarterly 64, no. 2 (April 1994): 177-194.

[5] Women’s History Month: Honoring the Women of Sibley Music LibraryEastman School of Music.

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