On Thursday, October 8, the Hamon Library will be giving away several boxes of music materials on a first-come, first-serve basis. The event will be held in the Taubman Atrium from 11:30 am-1:00pm and Meadows Division of Music students and other SMU patrons are encouraged to come.
So what is a library give-away anyway? Libraries build their collections of materials in a variety of ways. Hamon librarians purchase new items that support the courses taught at SMU on a monthly basis through vendors and publishing aggregators; we replace worn, damaged, or lost items as needed; we deaccession older editions and replace them with newer, more scholarly editions; and we receive donations that cannot always be added to the collection.
In this week’s give-away, most of the materials offered for free were donated and found in our catalog as duplicate items. As a policy, Central University Libraries, which includes Fondren, Hamon and DeGolyer Libraries, does not retain duplicate copies in its collections due to a shortage of shelf space. For those other items offered, many are gently used items from Hamon’s collection, which we decided to replace with brand new copies for the collection.
Hamon collections are not getting smaller because of this giveaway event. They continue to expand with new acquisitions each month. We are making sure that the collection, as a whole, is in good condition and has the most current and relevant materials for our Meadows community.
Image: Glass negative, quarter plate, Eric Sheldon eating a banana and reading sheet music, Tom Lennon, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 1934
Eric J. Sheldon was a drummer, dance band leader and editor of the monthly industry magazine, “The Australian Music Maker and Dance Band News”, 1932-36. Lennon was the official photographer for the magazine.