A vision for the Piano Lab has been developed and I have begun steps to move toward that goal.
The ultimate goal is not completely formed, but I am sure it includes listening stations, the keyboard music library, a better layout that allows the room to be used for both teaching classes and student workstations for study, composition, and aural practice. I also have begun using student tutors and I hope the lab can become a central location to facilitate this type of study.
This first step involves asking facilities to bring in some bookshelves, a student receiving scholarship for cataloging keyboard music, beginning the process of cataloging the music that had been left by the old MCC library.
To catalog the music, I researched possible app packages that would allow a web-based library system that could be used for not only the keyboard music library, but also the vocal, orchestral, and jazz libraries. I could not find a package that would accomplish what we needed without being unnecessarily complicated and designed for a much larger system.
The solution was to create my own library app, called “The Bryn Librarian.” I managed to produce the first architecture for the app, allowing the students to begin cataloging music. Components already completed include data entry, auto complete functions, duplicate-comparing functions, and the ability to manage item data, composers, arrangers, publishers, locations, libraries, anthologies, ensembles, and instrument lists.
Over the following two months I plan to complete the app, adding components to search, login, and edit data.
