A lovely thing happened this afternoon. I am honoured to have been elected, along with two esteemed colleagues, as an Honorary Fellow of our professional association, IAML (UK & Irl).
When I retire from music librarianship soon, I will have been in post 36 years. But I will actually have been a music librarian for 39 years – and a librarian for almost 40. Where did the time go?
Memories of the Newsletter (Ebay image)
My first ‘role’ in IAML was as Newsletter editor. (Anyone remember Roneo stencils and that pink correction fluid?) And my last has been as Communications Chair. I tell you, blogging is a doddle compared to those stencils!
I’m grateful, and humbled, to have had my efforts recognised. I feel a bit undeserving, but I AM very grateful!
Already a lover of libraries and music!
[The photo? A little girl who wanted to be a librarian like her uncle … because libraries were always her favourite place!]
Wednesday. Glasgow to St Andrews, to do book revisions, and a lecture for the University’s Institute of Scottish Historical Research. (It was about the impact pedagogical and technological innovations had on Scottish music publishers.)
Thursday night. St Andrews to Dundee (expedient – it was the only way to get back in time for work on Friday!)
Sleeperz, where I could not sleep …
Friday morning. Dundee to Glasgow, for a day’s librarianship. One particular query took a couple of hours, but I was told that my reply would make the enquirer very happy … really, that’s all that matters.
New desk lamp – extension cable sorted!
Saturday. Glasgow to Dundee and back for the Friends of Wighton 20th Anniversary celebrations. I attended the speeches and morning concert …
20th Anniversary of the Wighton Centre Sheena Wellington opens Proceedings The Provost of DundeeHarpsichordist Mark Spalding in front of Andrew Wighton’s music booksPurcell’s “Scotch” tune!This is Gaelic singer Wilma MacdougallThis is Sally Garden, the Wighton Musician in Residence a few years ago.
I’m the Honorary Librarian, and my role was to show off Wighton’s books, in the afternoon. Although few visitors required my services, I had some very enjoyable conversations about the books, so it was a pleasant day.
It’s always fun to spot little comments made on the music by Wighton himself, and today I also found one of the books had belonged to an original subscriber. I wonder if she played the tunes when she got the book? In a chapter I wrote a couple of years ago, I found the number of women subscribers compared to men, went up as time went by. There’s a Miss Scrimgeour on the database compiled for that book, but Mrs Scrimgeour doesn’t appear there. Have I somehow found a new subscriber, or was she just mistranscribed at some point?!
Mrs Scrymgeour’s copy, 1796
Googlemaps will again be reporting record travel mileage this month! But I have awarded myself the rest of the weekend off. (Honestly, have I only walked 8466 steps today? I’m surprised!)