Victorian-Era Culture Preserved in Digitized Music Collection

University Relations News Bureau (662) 325-3442Contact: Maridith Geuder [email protected]Aug. 14, 2000

Victorian-era culture preserved in digitized music collection

STARKVILLE, Miss.--Nearly a century after being composed, printed and performed, more than 22,000 pieces of sheet music are being given new exposure at Mississippi State.

A major collection of turn-of-the century music acquired by the late Starkville businessman Charles H. Templeton Sr. has been archived and digitized by the university's Mitchell Memorial Library. Templeton died Aug. 2 at age 70.

A preliminary web site for the collection may be accessed at http://library.msstate.edu/ragtime. The music ranges from ragtime and minstrel melodies to the patriotic tunes of World War I and the later high-spirited music of the Big Band era.

Donated to MSU in 1987, the sheet music originally was stored in acid-free boxes. Now, with the help of the latest digital tools, it will be available via the Internet to scholars, musicians and archivists around the globe, said Dean of Libraries Frances Coleman. When complete, it will be one of the largest online sheet music archives in the nation.

"With composers such as W.C. Handy, Charles L. Johnson, Arthur Pryor, and Irving Berlin represented, the history of a nation is reflected in this collection," Coleman said. "The often elaborate illustrations of the songs also provide a window into the ideas and politics of the times."

The collection also includes a vast array of early musical instruments and memorabilia reflecting Templeton's lifelong interest in the commercial aspects of the industry.

Stephen Cunetto, library systems administrator, said digitizing a collection of this magnitude was a significant undertaking. "Providing access to the collection in electronic format will expand its availability to students of early 20th century American culture and ensure the protection of often fragile paper documents," he added.

The project is a collaboration with university archivist Michael Ballard and the library's Instructional Media Center, which is under the direction of Cunetto and Paula Lehman. Together, they worked with the university's administrator of network systems to ensure appropriate conservation and preservation of the unique collection.

"Thanks to the vision and generosity of Mr. Templeton, a rare look into American life now will be available to a wide audience," Coleman said.

The Templeton Sheet Music Archive will be housed in the library's special collections department, where it will be catalogued by broad categories. The original collection will continue to be available to scholars by appointment.

MSU President Malcolm Portera said the archives also are important to the library's research status.

"The Templeton Archives will significantly enhance research opportunities available at Mississippi State's libraries and will contribute to a university goal of achieving membership in the Association of Research Libraries," Portera said.

Mitchell Memorial Library also houses the papers of novelist and 1977 MSU graduate John Grisham, along with those of journalists Turner Catledge, Hodding Carter, Bill Minor, and Sid Salter, and the Mississippi Press Association. The library also recently opened its Congressional and Political Research Center, which houses the papers of former U.S. Sen. John C. Stennis, Rep. Chip Pickering and former representatives David R. Bowen, Mike Espy, Charles Griffin, and G.V. "Sonny" Montgomery.

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