March 10, 2009
LIS 610
The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
Its History and Influence in the Field of Library and Information Science
Introduction
The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts houses the most
comprehensive collection of its kind, and is arguably the most influential library in the
world for research and preservation in the fields of dance, music, and theatre. In fact, the
Library for the Performing Arts “houses the world’s most extensive combination of
circulating and non-circulating reference and research materials on music dance, theatre,
recorded sound, and other performing arts.”1 These performing arts are ephemeral by
nature, and thus pose many challenges in terms of documentation and preservation.
Because a dance, for example, is difficult to translate into the kind of paper medium that
would be easily housed on a traditional library’s shelves, only thirty percent of the
Library’s research holdings consist of books. The other seventy percent consists of
“historic recordings, videotapes, manuscripts, correspondence, sheet music, set, light,
mechanical and costume designs, press clippings, programs, posters, and photographs.”2
The Library houses both historic and contemporary collections, and is thus noted for its
impressive depth and range.3
A Brief History
The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts is one of four research
centers under the umbrella of the New York Public Library (NYPL). The others include
the Humanities and Social Sciences Library, the Schomburg Center for Research in Black
Culture, and the Science, Industry and Business Library.4 The NYPL also includes
eighty-seven branch libraries in Manhattan, Staten Island, and the Bronx. The history of
the performing arts collections at the NYPL begins with the Lenox Library, the private
library of prominent New Yorker James Lenox. In 1895, the Lenox Library merged with
the private library of Jacob Astor with the Samuel Jones Tilden Trust in order to form
The New York Public Library.5 Seven years prior to this merge, the Lenox Library
acquired the music collection of Joseph Drexel of Philadelphia, which later became the
basis for the Library’s Music Division. A similar gift allowed for the establishment of
the Library’s Theatre Collection, when in 1931 the Library received a large collection of
materials from the estate of producer/playwright David Belasco, along with the condition
that it be made accessible to the public.6 In 1924, a substantial circulating collection was
opened at the 58th Street Library. The Dance Division was established as its own unit in
1944. Prior to this date, the Dance Collection was a part of the Music Division. After
noticing “that many visitors were making inquiries about various aspects of dance,”
Genevieve Oswald, a librarian in the Music Division who would become the Dance
Collection’s first curator, convinced the chief of the Division that there was a need for a
separate dance area.7 “We began with very little,” she has been quoted, “two tables…,
some six hundred folders and one lonely shelf of programs approximately ten feet long.”8
But by 1947, “the collection required the full-time attention of a librarian.”9
It wasn’t until 1965 that each of these collections (dance, music, theatre) was
united in a single library, at a Lincoln Center complex completed in the same year. The
Rodgers and Hammerstein Archives of Recorded Sound was established as a unit within
this new united Library after the Rodgers and Hammerstein Foundation gave the Library
a grant to catalog a backlog of unprocessed records given as gifts from the public.10 The
current Library for the Performing Arts building at Lincoln Center was completed at a
total cost to the City of New York and Lincoln Center of $8,000,000.11 With regard to
financing, the new library came with a new challenge. Previously, the lending branches
of the NYPL were supported by municipal funds. Research collections, on the other
hand, depended almost solely on private contributions.12 In the Library for the
Performing Arts, the circulating and research collections were to be combined. The City
absorbed most of the initial cost, but private donations, grants, and foundations continue
to provide for the maintenance and development of the Library’s priceless collections.
A Glance at Structure
The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts is currently divided into
five major divisions: a circulating collection, the Jerome Robbins Dance Division, the
Music Division, the Rodgers and Hammerstein Archive of Recorded Sound, and the Billy
Rose Theatre Collection. The first of these, the circulating collection, is noted as the
“largest circulating collection in the world devoted to the performing arts.”13 The Jerome
Robbins Dance Division, similarly, is the “world’s largest and most varied archive
devoted solely to the history and documentation of dance.”14 The Division collects,
houses, and preserves dance in its many forms – ballet, jazz, modern, social, court, folk,
etc. Three percent of the Division’s holdings are its 42,000 reference books about dance.
Its other materials include “manuscripts, costume and set designs, photographs, posters,
programs, recorded interviews, and press clippings.”15 One particularly important part of
the Division is the Jerome Robbins Archive of the Recorded Moving Image, which is an
extensive collection of films and videotapes of live dance performances. The Division is
also the “preeminent archive for the personal papers of dance legends such as Ted
Shawn, Lincoln Kirstein, and Agnes de Mille.”16
The third unit of the Library is the Music Division, whose collections include
“classical music, opera, spirituals, ragtime, jazz, musical comedy, and orchestral, rock,
and pop music.”17 As mentioned above, the origins of the Music Division date back to
1888 with the donation of Drexel’s collection. This collection contained over 6,000
volumes, including rare 15th through 19th century music.18 The Division, over time, has
simply continued to build upon this strong base. It is important to note that, while the
Division houses impressive scores and manuscripts from “centuries past,” its “curatorial
mandate is an activist one.”19 Therefore, “major emphasis is placed on capturing the
creative output of contemporary composers, while the acquisitions program brings in the
latest in published music from many nations.”20
The fourth unit of the Library for the Performing Arts is the Rodgers and
Hammerstein Archives of Recorded Sound, which was originally a part of the Music
Division. This unit has been called a “vital archives of the aural landscape of our
culture.”21 Though it is primarily a research facility, the Archives also “plays a
leadership role in developing technology that allows for the transfer of sound from
obsolete to accessible formats.”22 The Archives maintains a collection of 500,000
recordings and 8,500 printed items.
Finally, the Billy Rose Theatre Collection was established in 1931 after a gift
from David Belasco. It was given its current name after a donation by the Billy Rose
Foundation. “Its collections illuminate virtually every type of performance, from
streetcorner to stage to studio, and include drama and musical theatre, film, television,
radio, and popular entertainment, such as circus, magic, vaudeville, and puppetry.”23 The
Theatre Division also “includes the Theatre on Film and Tape Archive, known as TOFT,
the only organization authorized by all of America’s theatrical guilds and unions to
videotape live theatre performances from across the United States.”24 The TOFT Archive
currently holds 4,500 tapes of Broadway, Off-Broadway, regional theatre productions,
and more.
Global Influence
Internationally Renowned Collections
The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts maintains a crucial and
influential place in the field of library of information science. Each of its five units can
claim impressive statistics. The circulating collection, as mentioned above, is the largest
circulating collection devoted to the performing arts in the entire world, for example. But
the most impressive testament to the Library’s influence can be found in a simple quote
from an exhibit guide detailing the new 1965 Lincoln Center structure: “no book can be
written on the American theatre today without using [the Library of the Performing Arts]
collection.”25
Bridging the Gap: User Diversity
One of the ways in which the Library is influential is in the exceptionally broad
audience it attracts and serves. The Dance Division, for example, is used daily by
“choreographers, dancers, critics, historians, journalists, publicists, film makers, graphic
artists, students, and the general public.”26 The Music Division prides itself in particular
on its “broad professional constituency.”27 In fact, in 1965 the Division set a specific
goal to “bridge the gap between musicologists and performing artists.”28 While the
research collections are undeniably important to scholars internationally, the circulating
collection attracts families and other members of the general public. According to its
website, the Library serves 425,000 visitors a year.
Preservation
The Dance Division at the NYPL is the nation’s leading institution when it comes
to preserving the art of dance. In fact, it is the “largest and most comprehensive archive
in the world devoted to the documentation of dance.”29 The Division is committed to a
mission to preserve and maintain an archive that “reflects a lasting national arts legacy,”
and does so by gathering “diverse written, visual, and aural resources, and works to
ensure the art form’s continuity through an active documentation program.”30
Preservation and maintenance of its existing materials, many of which are deteriorating
rapidly due to unstable media, is as important to the institution as new acquisitions. The
Division has been a pioneer in the field of preserving this ephemeral art, and acted as a
founding member of the Dance Heritage Coalition, formed in 1992 to address the lack of
care for records of the performing arts. In cooperation with DHC, the NYPL for the
Performing Arts has taken a leadership role in teaching the artistic community how to
better document and preserve their art.31 If artists record rehearsals on more stable film,
take their notes on acid free paper, and keep their photographs away from the harmful
effects of natural light, their collections will stand a far better chance of being preserved
for generations to come.
Cataloging
The Library for the Performing Arts has been quite influential in the field of
cataloging and classification. In 1994 rule 25.5B was updated in the Anglo-American
Cataloging Rules (AACR2) based on work that began at the Dance Division before it
even existed as such. This rule addresses uniform headings, which can be used to clarify
and simply the process of searching for any document, but are particularly helpful for
choreographic works. When the Dance Collection became its own Division and moved
to the new facility at Lincoln Center, the need to develop a specific, comprehensive
collection catalog was made clear. In doing so, the librarians, led by Dorothy Lourdou,
developed a specific practice – to “index materials by the title of the work.”32 This
practice was initiated in response to Lourdou’s observation that “a ballet’s title appeared
to be the primary access point for research.”33 The name of the choreographer was added
to the title in order to distinguish between works. This undertaking resulted in the
compilation of “an authority list of 45,000 dance subject, name and title headings in
dictionary arrangement.”34 In 1974 this was published as the Dictionary Catalog of the
Dance Collection. In this dictionary, “the heading for each work is followed by a short
paragraph identifying the choreographer, librettist, and scenic and costume designer;
following next are the location, date, and ensemble involved in the first performance.”35
Few catalog records have been so precise. When dance librarians began to unite in the
1990s through organizations like the DHC, a primary goal emerged: to establish a union
catalog. The catalog at the Jerome Robbins Dance Division became the backbone of this
new catalog.
Beyond Tradition
Finally, the Library of the Performing Arts is exceptional in that it pushes
boundaries, expanding its role far past what many would consider that of a traditional
library. “In addition to being a lending and research library, it serves as a museum, a
video production center, a valued consultant to the artistic community, and a performance
venue regularly presenting concerts and theatrical events as well as lectures and
seminars,” for example.36
Conclusion
In conclusion, the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts holds a
historically important place in the field of library science. It is the nation’s leader in
performing arts collection and preservation, and its innovations have changed the way
dance is viewed and protected. Its five divisions each hold impressive statistics regarding
the size and scope of their collections. More importantly, the Divisions are driven by
active curatorial goals that result in the documentation and preservation of contemporary
performances. The Library has influenced the development of rules in AACR2, and
actively works to educate artists about techniques for preserving their ephemeral art.
Finally, the Library is notable for its ability to continue to push traditional definitions of
the library as an institution. The NYPL for the Performing Arts proves that libraries can
serve many, many functions within their communities.
Appendix
The materials used to support this paper are quite varied. I was pleasantly
surprised to find a book about the Library for the Performing Arts on the shelf at
Hamilton Library. Online databases like Academic Search Premier and ProjectMUSE
are often quite inadequate when it comes to researching the field of the performing arts.
In developing this paper, I therefore wound up using articles that I have encountered
previously in my studies. One of these articles, “Developing Uniform Titles,” I found
originally through the E-Resources page of the Hamilton Library website, which led me
to the Cataloging & Classification Quarterly database. I encountered this article initially
last semester, when focusing on AACR2 for LIS 605, Basic Cataloging and Classification.
Similarly, I stumbled upon the article written by Catherine Johnson when working last
semester on a project about dance preservation for LIS 619, Preservation Management. It
was a pleasure to view these articles in a new light and to extract alternative information
from them to support a different argument. It is a shame, however, that more resources
do not yet exist on dance librarianship. As one can easily discern from the following
endnotes, the institution’s own website was by far the most helpful resource throughout
my research.
Endnotes
1. “The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts,” The New York Public
Library, October 5, 2001, < http://www.nypl.org/press/2001/lpareopenhistory.cfm
> accessed March 10, 2009.
2. ibid.
3. ibid.
4. ibid.
5. ibid.
6. The Library & Museum of the Performing Arts (New York: The New York Public
Library, 1965), 36.
7. David Prochazka, “The Development of Uniform Titles for Choreographic Works,”
Cataloging & Classification Quarterly 42:1, 12.
8. ibid.
9. ibid.
10. The Library & Museum, 34.
11. The Library & Museum, 5.
12. ibid, 6.
13. “The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts,” October 5, 2001.
14. ibid.
15. ibid.
16. ibid.
17. ibid.
18. ibid.
19. ibid.
20. ibid.
21. ibid.
22. ibid.
23. ibid.
24. ibid.
25. The Library & Museum, 35.
26. “The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts,” October 5, 2001.
27. ibid
28. The Library & Museum, 32.
29. “The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts,” October 5, 2001.
30. ibid.
31. Catherine Johnson and Allegra Fuller Snyder, “Securing Our Heritage: Issues in the
Preservation and Documentation of Dance.” Council on Library and Information
Resources, 1999.
32. Prochazka, “The Development of Uniform Titles,” 34.
33. ibid.
34. ibid,
35. ibid, 15.
36. “The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts,” October 5, 2001.