Prelude to a digital music library at the Pennsylvania State University - Networking audio for academic library users

The three significant factors in planning and implementing a digital music initiative are infrastructure, collections, and human resources, with a fou rth factor, funding, affecting all decisions. By examining these issues it is possible to describe the Penn State experience in the initial stages of creating a digital music library and offer suggestions and experiences that may assist others in planning, developing, and evaluating a similar servic e. The benefits of digitizing the music collection include increased access and the potential for enhanced preservation. At Pennsylvania State Univers ity, collection decisions have been based on course-related needs.