Scanning Scores
Digital sheet music project showcases collections of partner institutions
You can barely even read the titles without singing them. “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” and “Apple Blossom Time” are songs that remain culturally relevant in spite of their age. Both songs were composed at the beginning of the 20th century by Indianapolis native Albert Von Tilzer, who along with his brother Harry, created a venerable songwriting duo and music publishing house that was known across the country. These works, along with thousands of other songs with Indiana ties, are featured in a digital sheet music library created by Indiana University’s Digital Library Program.
IN Harmony: Sheet Music from Indiana is a three year project to catalog and digitize cover art and sheet music from the collections of four partner institutions including Indiana University’s Lilly Library. The scope of the digital collection is immense, showcasing approximately 10,000 unique works covering a period of nearly 200 years. Each piece of music within the collection has a Hoosier connection including songs by Indiana composers, lyricists, and publishers, as well as songs written about the state.
The primary goal of the project is to show how, by working collaboratively, libraries and museums can create shared digital resources. Capitalizing on the combined strengths of each partner institution, a fully searchable Web site was created to highlight important pieces from each collection. IN Harmony also serves as a portal to these historical materials by transforming fragile paper copies to sleek digital facsimiles–making them readily accessible to historians, musicologists, and the general public.
IN Harmony: Sheet Music from Indiana is funded by a 2004 National Leadership Grant received by Indiana University’s Digital Library Program from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. The project’s institutional partners include Indiana University’s Lilly Library, the Indiana State Museum, the Indiana Historical Society, and the Indiana State Library.
