Collection Development and Gifts


Overview

The Marta and Austin Weeks Music Library collects music and music-related resources in support the learning and research needs of the members of the Phillip and Patricia Frost School of Music, the University’s Coral Gables campus, and the wider local, regional, and international music communities.

The Frost School of Music offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in areas such as performance, music business, media writing and production, music engineering, composition, musicology, music education, and music therapy. The Frost School of Music also offers Artist Diplomas in performance and in instrumental conducting.

The Weeks Music Library also serves other departments and programs that relate to music, including the Department of Theatre Arts’ Musical Theatre Program. Many of Weeks Music Library’s circulating materials are also loaned to other institutions through the UM Libraries’ interlibrary loan service.

Currently, Weeks Music Library has over 73,000 scores, nearly 40,000 books, and nearly 70,000 audio recordings (in both LP and CD formats). In addition, Weeks Music Library subscribes to 125 music journals and provides access to hundreds of music and general databases. Please view our Facts & Figures page for more information.

Weeks Music Library houses several special collections, including the Larry Taylor-Billy Matthews Musical Theater Archive, the Alfred Camner, Anne Camner, and Camner Family Music Collection, and the Frank Cooper Music Facsimile Collection.

General Guidelines

Selection of materials is based primarily on the following guidelines:

  1. Materials directly related to the current and evolving instructional and curricular needs of students and faculty of the University, with primary focus on the curriculum of the Frost School of Music.
  2. Materials that support the research interests of University of Miami faculty.
  3. Materials that contribute to deep and comprehensive coverage of music-related disciplines, in accordance with the University of Miami Libraries’ role as one of the top 50 research libraries in North America.

The types of materials selected include

  1. Performing and pedagogical editions of music,
  2. Critical and scholarly editions of music, including monuments of music and collected editions,
  3. Scholarly literature on music,
  4. Sound and video recordings, and
  5. Electronic databases.

Gifts

Weeks Music Library accepts gifts which are relevant to the institution’s needs and evaluates all potential gifts with respect to its collection development goals. Weeks Music Library does not collect obsolete formats and does not accept donations of duplicate materials or materials in poor condition. Please view the University of Miami Libraries’ guidelines on gifts of physical materials for more information.