By Sahara Lyon-Mundy
Libraries have long functioned as society’s record keepers, historians, archivists, and storytellers. Within libraries, librarians are tasked with the difficult job of acquiring, archiving, and presenting artifacts and items to the public in a way that is organized and understandable. At Florida State University (FSU), the Warren D Allen Music Library is undertaking a large and important project to archive and present items that represent and chronicle Tallahassee’s local music history. The Tallahassee Regional Music Collection (TRMC) was created by a collaboration between FSU’s Allen Music Library, the College of Music, and the Center for Music of The Americas, with the purpose of serving as a living archive devoted to music and musicians in the Capital City region.
The launch of the TRMC is especially exciting because of requests coming from the community. Elizabeth Uchimura, Music Digital Services and Special Collections Librarian at the Allen Music Library and a musician themselves explained, “As active musicians in the scene, and as librarians who are receiving requests from musicians, we noticed that there was not a place for our local artists to have their musical legacy preserved.” She continued, “Therefore, there was not really a place for community members to come engage with that music.” The TRMC has emerged as a solution to our local community’s lack of archival preservation. Uchimura explained that FSU’s College of Music has been building out its intentional community engagement, centering the community’s requests and connecting students with Tallahassee’s local music scene. The TRMC is the culmination of this work, resulting in a living archive that will grow and change with the local music community.
The TRMC idea comes from long-held precedents in libraries around the country. Public music libraries have been leading the charge for public music collection. On the university front, the University of North Texas collection served as a model for the TRMC’s development at FSU. Laura Gayle Green, head of FSU’s Allen Music Library, emphasized the importance of community engagement in this project and how the TRMC reflects developments in Tallahassee’s local music scene. She stated, “Really think of this as part of the community. Its reflecting music made in the community, and it’s honoring that music, preserving that music.” Green also stated that she’d love to see TRMC’s reach go beyond the College of Music, as it will be available for other researchers to explore the music and many other resources the TRMC offers.
As aforementioned, FSU’s College of Music is presenting more community engagements, a trend in the larger arts education discipline. When asked about the importance of community engagement by an initiative like the TRMC, Evangeline Ciupek, Program Manager for Community Engagement at the College of Music, stated, “Community involvement for this initiative is vital. Not only for its existence but also for it to be something that is robust and useful to the community.” She reflected, “Music is such an ephemeral activity. You get so much out of a live music experience, but then it disappears. The TRMC is a way to take and preserve our local music community’s history.” Ciupek affirmed, “It’s not a question of who makes it into the canon; we’re not trying to be gatekeepers.” She stated that the TRMC is working diligently with various musicians, organizations, and artists from all over the community to ensure that their representation of Tallahassee’s local music community is inclusive and complete.
The TRMC librarians urge artists and musicians to contact them with their own personal archival material, recordings, and documentation. The TRMC is currently a part of the library’s Special Collections, and Uchimura explained that there are processes for acquiring and archiving materials based on previously set-up systems. People in the community and on campus can make an appointment to view the TRMC’s materials. The TRMC’s materials currently include physical recordings such as vinyl and CDs and digital access to parts of the collection. The TRMC is also open to displaying and collecting marketing materials for performances, flyers, set lists, etc. You can browse some of those recordings and look into borrowing them from the library here. If you don’t have a Florida Borrowers Card, you can look into acquiring one here.
As artists, librarians, and university professionals, Green, Uchimura, and Ciupek all understand the need for arts education. When asked about the importance of arts education, they all expressed the need for creativity, fun, and challenge in a person’s life. Since the TRMC is an initiative designed to serve the local community and academic researchers, it will serve as an arts education resource for future generations. If you’re interested in the TRMC and the work the Allen Music Library and the College of Music are doing, come out to the free TRMC Launch Party at Amicus Brewing on Saturday, November 9th, at 7 pm. It’ll be a night of fun, community, and music, with a performance by the local band Revival! COCA is so excited to connect our community to this amazing new resource, and we can’t wait to see how it grows along with the artists it is documenting.
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