Growing the UC Davis Library’s Music Collection
Over the course of this academic year, we have expanded the library’s collection of self-published music by American composers who may not have consistent access to formal publishing channels. Music scores were incorporated in our collections to enrich the library’s breadth of contemporary American concert music and provide a representative range of resources for performers and music scholars.
The project’s initial library school intern, Ryan Howard, helped us set up infrastructure and processes for adding these materials to our collections. A second library school intern, Kristen Pierri, then researched composers and added over 75 scores with instrumentation ranging from solo works to large ensembles. Most scores are available in digital format through the UC Davis Library.
Scores were acquired from the following composers:
- Ahmed Al Abaca
- Ty Bloomfield
- Henry Dorn
- Brittany J. Green
- Benjamin Horne
- Joseph C Phillips Jr
- David Sanford
- Carlos Simon
- George Walker (1922-2018)
- Dolores White (1932-2023)
- Evan Williams
- Mattea Williams
Looking ahead
We also researched a wide range of self-published composers from a variety of affinity groups, accumulating a list of over 40 composers with a total of over 1,200 pieces. Over time, we aim to pull from this list and continue adding to the library’s collection.
This initiative advances the objective within the library’s strategic plan to identify and mediate gaps created by systemic inequities in publishing and curation (Priority 4, Goal 1).
If you are a composer with compositions you would like to donate, or you would like to make a gift of support to help the library continue building collections like these, please contact Rice Majors, Associate University Librarian for Scholarly Resources, at ramajors@ucdavis.edu.