Encoded in EAD3 : Encoded Archival Description (EAD), Version 3 : Release: 1.1.1 : Release Date: 2019-12-16. Validating against latest version of schema.
Contact information: https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.music/perform.contact
Catalog Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/2020570115
DACS was used as the primary description standard.
Collection material in English
Henry Cowell transferred records from the Music Distritubiton Project office at the New School for Social Research to the Library of Congress in 1943. The remaining records were created at the Library of Congress as part of the American Music Libraries Loan Project and retained in the Music Division's archives.
No further accruals are expected.
Jane Cross and Rachel McNellis processed the American Music Loan Libraries Project Records in 2021. Cross and Anthony Edwards coded the finding aid in 2021.
The Seeger Family Collection contains writings and correspondence regarding Inter-American music topics during the 1940s. Tours by Aaron Copland and the American Ballet Caravan to Latin America in 1941 were sponsored by the Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs.
More information about the American Music Loan Libraries Project may be found at the National Archives and Records Administration in Record Group 229, Records of the Office of Inter-American Affairs, in the Nelson A. Rockefeller Papers at the Rockefeller Archive Center in New York, and in the Gilbert Chase Papers at New York Public Library.
Materials from the American Music Loan Libraries Project Records are governed by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S.C.) and other applicable international copyright laws.
The American Music Loan Libraries Project Records is open to research. Researchers are advised to contact the Music Division prior to visiting in order to determine whether the desired materials will be available at that time.
Certain restrictions on using or copying materials may apply.
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [item, date, container or reel or digital ID number], American Music Loan Libraries Project Records, Music Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
In the era of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's Good Neighbor Policy, the Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs (OCIAA) was established in 1940 [its responsibilities were transferred to the State Department in 1946]. Led by businessman and philanthropist Nelson A. Rockefeller, the OCIAA's mission was to help coordinate economic policies for stabilization, to deepen the United States' influence in the region, and to counter Axis influences. The OCIAA's cultural initiatives included film studios, actors, radio stations, and tours by musicians, dance companies, and other prominent goodwill ambassadors. Within three months of assuming leadership, Rockefeller established a Music Committee and appointed Marshall Bartholomew (Yale University Glee Club director), William Berrien (American Council of Learned Societies representative), Evans Clark (Twentieth Century Fund executive director), Carleton Sprague Smith (New York Public Library, Music Division chief), and Aaron Copland (composer and American Composers Alliance president) as its members. The committee's work was absorbed by the State Department's Advisory Committee on Music in 1941. One of the projects to survive the transition was the establishment of depositories in the capitals of twenty American republics to receive and distribute music, recordings, and books on music representing a cross-section of symphonic works, band works, jazz, operas, chamber music, choruses, instrumental solos, folk music, popular songs, journal subscriptions, and teaching materials. The focus of this Music Distribution Project (MDP) was on works by, or as interpreted by, United States musicians. A later iteration of the advisory committee had as its members Aaron Copland, Gustave Duran, John Tasker Howard, Otto Luening, Lilla Belle Pitts, Russell V. Morgan, Ruth Crawford Seeger, and Carleton Sprague Smith.
The New School for Social Research received a grant from OCIAA to run the MDP and engaged Henry Cowell to manage it from 1941 to 1943. The office was located in New York City near music publishers from whom Cowell was able to secure discounts. The MDP was transferred to the State Department on June 30, 1943. Upon taking over, the State Department issued the policy that the project "shall serve as a center to acquaint the peoples of the Other American Republics with the musical resources of the U.S." The materials on deposit were intended to be loaned to clubs, bands, orchestras, choirs, soloists, radio stations, schools, and other organizations, institutions, and individuals who otherwise might have difficulty in obtaining them. The goal was to include a wide and balanced selection of materials "to present a complete picture of the musical life of the United States," indexed and arranged for easy access. The name of the program changed to the American Music Library Loan Project (AMLLP).
Later in 1943, the State Department asked the Music Division of the Library of Congress to become responsible for choosing, collecting, and distributing relevant materials to the depositories while the State Department provided proper utilization at points of distribution. Gilbert Chase, music supervisor for NBC's University of the Air, was appointed as a special consultant to the Music Division for the AMLLP. Among other duties, he traveled to nine American countries in 1945 to survey the American Music Loan Libraries. Project leaders expressed hopes that, in a reciprocal move, music by composers in those countries would be made more readily available to musicians of the United States. In one report, the author wrote: "Such an interchange of music, music information, and methods should bring into even closer friendship the peoples of our countries through a mutual knowledge and appreciation of the creative efforts of each nation."
The AMLLP was not without its challenges. Hurdles with cataloging, shelving, administration, and circulation by trained librarians are mentioned. Later reports indicate consolidation efforts, "several depositories that will serve several countries each," as well as a new focus on selecting and distributing educational materials and orchestral works with complete sets of parts for performance.
In September 1946, the State Department took over purchasing materials and other administrative duties, leaving only completion of the AMLLP collection catalog to the Library of Congress. Gilbert Chase resigned his appointment as consultant the following month. By October 1947, Lee Fairley was the only Library of Congress representative still working on the AMLLP. In November 1947, the State Department established three major depositories of serious American orchestra music in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Montevideo, Uruguay; and Santiago, Chile. This effort seems to have coincided with the end of the Library of Congress Music Division's involvement with the American Music Loan Libraries Project.
The American Music Loan Libraries Project Records span the years 1941 to 1948. These records help document the project's work under the aegis of the Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs, the State Department, the New School for Social Research, and the Library of Congress to supply depositories in American republics with music, recordings, and books on music created or as interpreted by United States musicians. The Administrative Files illuminate many of the administrative aspects of running the project through address lists, reports, proposals, policy documents, catalogs, financial information, lists, and questionnaires, among other documents. The Country Files contain correspondence, lists, and other documents specific to certain cities and countries, while the Correspondence series primarily contains letters between representatives of the Library of Congress and the State Department. The Repertoire Lists collate works for large and small instrumental and vocal ensembles, as well as recordings, that administrators used when considering materials to distribute to American Music Loan Libraries Project depositories.
The collection is arranged in four series:
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the LC Catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically.
Catalog Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/2020570115
This series includes address lists, reports, proposals, policy documents, catalogs, finanaical information, lists, and questionnaires that illuminate many of the administrative aspects of the American Music Loan Libraries Project.
Arranged alphabetically.
This series contains correspondence, price lists, and repertoire lists specific to particular American cities and countries.
Arranged alphabetically.
This series primarily contains correspondence between representatives at the State Department; Harold Spivacke, Gilbert Chase, and others at the Library of Congress; and Henry Cowell. Other organizations corresponding about the project include the American Music Center, ASCAP, NBC, and SESAC.
Arranged alphabetically
This series contains correspondence, price lists, and lists of repertoire for orchestra, band, chorus, chamber ensembles, jazz ensembles, and piano, as well as lists of recordings. Administrators used these lists when considering materials to purchase and ship to depositories established by the American Music Loan Libraries Project.
Arranged alphabetically.