Excellence Awards for Music Libraries 2019

Every three years IAML (UK & Irl) invites nominations for its two Excellence Awards – the Excellence Award for Music Libraries, and the Personal Achievement Award.

IAML (UK & Irl) celebrated both institutional and individual excellence at the Excellence Awards ceremony held at College Court, Leicester on Sunday 14 April 2019. The range of music libraries in the UK and Ireland is diverse. No two are alike, each reflecting, supporting and engaging its own user community with a range of collections and services which underpin the vibrant diverse musical life and heritage in the UK and Ireland.

The Excellence Awards acknowledge activity in music libraries which demonstrates sustained good work and good practice with the potential to be adopted and adapted by others. New for the 2019 Awards – Institutions which were judged to have achieved the highest standard of Excellence in all compulsory criteria were eligible for an Excellence Award with distinction.

The Awards also recognise outstanding personal achievement by individuals. Music collections from any sector in the UK and Ireland can be nominated for the Award, no matter what their sector, size or type.

The nominations for the 2019 Awards were judged by a panel of experts from both the music and library worlds, chaired by Dr Charles Inskip, Senior lecturer, Programme Director, MA Library and Information Studies, Department of Information Studies, University College London.

2019 saw the following 11 institutional libraries and 2 individuals receive an Excellence Award:

Excellence Award for Music Libraries – With Distinction

• Gerald Coke Handel Collection
• Royal Northern College of Music Library

Excellence Award for Music Libraries

• Cardiff University Music Library
• City of London: Barbican Music Library
• Community & Youth Music Library (CYML)
• Henry Watson Music Library, Manchester
• Jerwood Library (Trinity Laban)
• Nottingham Performing Arts Library Service (NPALS)
• OUP Music Hire Library
• Royal College of Music Library
• Trinity College Dublin Music Library

Personal Achievement Award

• Claire Marsh (Leeds College of Music)
• Jude Paton (Nottingham Performing Arts Library Service

Citations for the award can be seen here.