In academic libraries, the sound recordings that are used most heavily are usually those assigned by instructors for course-related listening by students. In larger universities, music appreciation and music history survey courses often have enrollments of hundreds of students spread over several sections. The puzzle of how best to deliver listening assignments to large groups of students simultaneously has been dogging music librarians for decades.
Some instructors will require students to purchase a set of recordings that accompany the assigned text for the course, in which case the library is relieved of the responsibility. In most cases, though, the instructor will prepare a listening list that is tailored to suit his or her preferences for repertory and performances.
When supporting a customized listening list, the library cannot accommodate the needs of a large class--particularly on the night before an exam--by simply placing the library's copy of the various recordings on the reserve shelf. Through the years, music libraries have turned to state-of-the-art audio technologies for solutions to the problem of providing an effective reserve listening service for heavily enrolled classes.
In the 1970s and 1980s, reserve listening was provided by copying LP recordings to reel-to-reel or cassette tapes in multiple copies for students to borrow. (Some libraries piped the recordings from a central tape player to multiple listening carrels in a listening center.) In the 1990s, with the advent of recordable compact discs, this same technique was transferred to the new technology; libraries burned circulating copies of the listening assignments on CD-Rs.
In the mid-1990s, many libraries quickly adopted new streaming-audio technology to provide reserve listening over the internet, and today, a growing number of libraries are making use of commercial subscription services (such as Classical Music Library and Naxos Music Library) and digital music players (such as iPods) to provide reserve listening assignments.
In order to learn more about current practices in music libraries, I posted a note on MLA-L,7.1 the email discussion list of the Music Library Association, calling for volunteers to fill out a survey that asked questions about software, hardware, access, and staffing for the digital audio services offered in their libraries. Forty-two librarians responded to the survey, and while the survey is by no means scientific, it was the best method I had to identify current practices in the field. So before proceeding, I offer this caveat: when I refer to ``most libraries,'' ``few libraries,'' or ``no libraries,'' I am drawing conclusions based on practices in the forty-two libraries represented in the survey results.