Comments 4.2 Sound archives 4.2.1 Comments 5. Final comments 1. Introduction 1.1What is a music library Music material has for a long time been part of library collections.
Recent research suggest that even the oldest known libraries held music documents.
The medieval monastic libraries contained both texts on music theory and the music itself. Later on libraries holding music material was established at cathedral schools, in churches and at universities. Many private libraries also had substantial music collections. Although some of these different institutions were open to the general public, the public library, as we know it, is a product of the 19th and 20th century. To print music was originally a fairly cumbersome and expensive process.