NewSPAL is open!

NewSPAL’s sheet music collection is open for use after successful long-term campaign

We are delighted to announce that the New Surrey Performing Arts Library (NewSPAL) is open for business. Charity NewSPAL was set up to ensure Surrey County Council’s performing arts collection is maintained and developed for its community after it was under serious threat of closing.

While facing significant budget cuts, in 2017 Surrey Libraries considered breaking up or closing their music library service of multiple copies of sheet music and orchestral sets used by leisure-time music groups in Surrey and across the UK. However, over the course of five years, with grassroots campaigning to stop the collection from closing by hundreds of volunteers including local Making Music members, as well as support from Making Music and public donations, Surrey County Council agreed to NewSpal taking over the collection. 

This library of sheet music and other performing arts material is one of the three largest in the UK and can now be accessed for hire by anyone directly or through the inter-library loan system. These resources are invaluable for leisure-time music groups as they offer an affordable way to hire sheet music. Groups from anywhere in the country can now sign up to hire choral, orchestral and band sets on a pay-as-you-go basis. There is also a large collection of chamber music, scores and books about the performing arts which can be browsed and borrowed by individuals from NewSPAL's library in Ewell (Epsom, Surrey).

This campaign shows the power of collaboration between individuals, organisations and a council to achieve an innovative solution for local needs, which sees the NewSPAL collection remain available and affordable for the public. 

Mark Welling, Chair of NewSPAL, explained:  

'Users of the Surrey collection always understood the financial pressures facing the County Council and it was obvious to us that, to give the collection a long-term sustainable future, it would have to be in the charity sector and run by and for its users and potential users.  As more councils around the country are faced with having to cut back their music libraries, we hope NewSPAL may be a model for keeping these vitally important resources available. NewSPAL has to be financially sustainable without public money so we want people and groups around the country to use it to prove the model can work in the long-term.  As so often, the message is: "use it or lose it."'

Barbara Eifler, Making Music Chief Executive and co-founder of NewSPAL, said:

'Not helped by Covid, it has taken five years to implement what is a first in the UK: a publicly-owned music library entrusted to an independent charity to run for the benefit of the local and wider community. This has only been achieved because of the enormous effort by hundreds of local volunteers in campaigning, fundraising and cataloguing, amongst other things. They are the heroes of this story and Making Music is proud to have been able to support them along the way.'

Browse the collection on the NewSPAL website

For more information contact press@makingmusic.org.uk

---Ends---

Making Music
020 7939 6030
info@makingmusic.org.uk
www.makingmusic.org.uk

Twitter: @MakingMusic_UK
Instagram: @makingmusicuk
Facebook: facebook.com/makingmusicuk
YouTube: youtube.com/makingmusic

8 Holyrood Street
London, SE1 2EL
United Kingdom

Making Music, The National Federation of Music Societies. 
A company limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales no. 308632.
Registered Charity in England and Wales no. 249219 and in Scotland no. SC038849

Notes to editors

Since 1935, Making Music has championed leisure-time music groups across the UK with practical services, artistic development opportunities and by providing a collective voice for its members. We now represent over 4,000 groups of around 2280,000 musicians of all types, genres and abilities. We help them run their group so they can get on with making music! makingmusic.org.uk

NewSPAL is a charity that ensures the Surrey Performing Arts Library collection can be maintained and developed for the long term. For more information, please visit newspal.org.uk