Plans are underway to bring the Music Collection to the main UCSB Library. Currently housed on the second floor of the former Arts Library, the Music Collection supports academic and performance programs in Music at the undergraduate and graduate levels, encompassing both Western and non-Western music.
The collection is particularly strong in the vernacular and traditional music of Eastern Europe, India, the Middle East, and the United States, and incorporates books, scores, journals, videos, and sound recordings, including archived recordings of UCSB faculty and student recitals.
When the Art & Architecture Collection moved to the main Library as part of the Addition & Renovation Project that was completed in January 2016, it left the Music Library as the one remaining branch library at UCSB. Moving the Music Collection to the main Library will allow faculty, scholars, and students to benefit from the interdisciplinary possibilities that come with close access to other collections and expertise, and the Library to take advantage of efficiencies that come with being under one roof.
The Music Collection’s new home will be on the third floor, Ocean Side of the UCSB Library, in space that was previously occupied by Special Research Collections. Approximately 21,000 square feet of space will be renovated to encompass open and closed stacks, high-density CD storage, individual listening stations and group listening rooms, a seminar room, a digital audio lab, a service desk, and staff offices. We also hope to create a rotating display of instruments from UCSB’s Henry Eichheim Collection of Musical Instruments, one of the leading university collections of global and rare instruments in the U.S.
We are early in the process of converting our plans into a dedicated project. DMHA Architects was brought on board to sketch conceptual plans for use of the space. Their renderings, pictured here, illustrate our vision of providing an open and welcoming floor plan that incorporates design elements from the Library’s recent renovations. Next up is to cost those plans, go through official campus channels for project approval, identify funding sources and select architectural and construction firms to see the work through.
The Library is actively seeking friends and partners to help us realize these goals. For more information, contact Alan Grosenheider, Deputy University Librarian.
