Celebration marks Gorton Music and Dance Library silver anniversary
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Alumni, faculty, staff and friends of the Gorton Music and Dance Library gathered inside to honor the building’s silver anniversary with a reception and short program Thursday evening. Guests were treated to a performance by Cornerstone String Quartet student ensemble, while enjoying refreshments, conversation, KU Libraries’ Jayhawk Jukebox traveling exhibit, and browsing the stacks, before remarks on the library’s past and future.
The library opened in summer 2000 as a state-of-the-art facility, replacing cramped quarters in the original Murphy Hall where collections were stored offsite and technology was limited. The new 12,000-square-foot space in the Murphy Hall addition tripled capacity and consolidated music and dance materials in one location.
Executive Associate Dean Mary Roach opened the program by welcoming guests, emphasizing the value of partnership between KU Libraries and KU’s schools of performing arts, and noting the dramatic improvement from the previous facility, which lacked adequate technology. Emeritus musicology professor Paul Laird traced the music collection's history from the late 1800s through decades of growth across multiple campus locations before consolidating in Murphy Hall, highlighting previous stewards of the collections, many of whom were in attendance.
The library now houses more than 100,000 scores, books and recordings, plus hundreds of thousands of electronic resources.
“It’s an absolute treasure for performers, educators, researchers, clinicians and creators across our school and beyond,” said Paul Popiel, Dean of the School of Music. “ It is a place where a student might discover their first orchestral score, or where a faculty member uncovers a piece that reshapes a performance program. These moments of discovery define one of the best learning experiences here in the KU School of Music.”
Performing Arts and Humanities Librarian Sara Outhier highlighted recent library changes, including adapting to shifting formats of collection materials, and a pair of new collecting priorities aimed at diversifying musical scores and acquiring pieces from winners and nominees of annual awards.
“We’ve made room for this collection to continue to grow in an organic way that is very responsive to the scholarly interests and the artistic interest of this community,” Outhier said, “which really makes this a living collection.”
On Friday, the library hosted the first of three Gorton Anniversary Brown Bag Concerts and will mark the occasion with a student-oriented birthday party on Feb. 18 from 2-4 p.m.