Microfilm of large MS

[gardano]

Hi,
I have a microfilm of an MS at the Biblioteque National of early German baroque chamber music, and don't know if this is something I can legally and ethically scan and upload.

I actually (embarrassingly) don't remember how I came to have this in my possession. I acquired it years and years ago while I was still a music student.

Thanks!

[KGill]

If the MS is indeed from the Baroque period, then there are no legal problems with uploading it here. The only possible way there could be any copyright on it would be if BNF (I assume this is the institution to which you refer) has already uploaded the same MS on their website, in which case they might enjoy first-publication rights in Europe only if the work was never previously published. Which piece is it, if I may ask?

[gardano]

The Rost Manuscript. Contains hundreds and hundreds of instrumental pieces from early baroque italian and German composers (Schmelzer, Kerll, etc). It's what Musica Antique Köln used as source material for their very early Peter's Recording "Virtuoso German Violin music of the 17th Century".

When I printed it out years ago, the pile was at least a foot high!

If I elect to scan it in, it will be a huge classification project too, to be sure.

[Boccaccio]

I recently looked for the Rost manuscript at BNF and could not find any scans of it.

[gardano]

Boccaccio,

I'm curious, what's your interest in the manuscript? I've definitely got it on my "to-do" list to scan it in.

[Hamstray]

Hi,
I have a microfilm of an MS at the Biblioteque National of early German baroque chamber music, and don't know if this is something I can legally and ethically scan and upload.

Regarding the ethical part: It would be unethical not to upload.

[gardano]

*grin* nice point, hamstray.

I'm just getting my slide scanner up and running.

The MS is arranged as partbooks, of course. How do people suggest it be organized on the Wiki?
I am thinking it should have a page for itself, of course. It would be optimal to have a separate file for each piece/part, but I don't know how doable that is, since there aren't consistent page breaks between pieces in the partbooks. Also, there are a smallish number of pages that have been ruined by spilt ink (wine? ;¬)), etc. So the MS isn't in the greatest of shape.

NOT having an index of pieces/instrumentation/composers would be a total drag, so I suppose it would be worth the effort of doing this right.

[Boccaccio]

Sorry for the delayed reply, I was on a conference the whole week. I was just curious for a particular reason, basically I just learned it contained a lot of old sonatas so I hoped there might be some nice/rare pieces in it.

Concerning the scanning procedure, I would suggest creating files for the different part books and upload them... then either you or some others might create a list of pieces contained in it and maybe later on, one can go on and make individual sites for each piece.

[gardano]

Hey folks,
I'm a bit delayed getting the MS uploaded. I thought my slide scanner would be able to handle the microfilm (my old one was able to). I'm in search of a digital microfilm scanner as we speak. Hang tight!

[jfarrington]

Speaking from the library's side, you might have gotten a letter when you initially purchased the microfilm outlining how the institution expects you to treat the microfilm. Some libraries ask for no further reproduction of the content without written consent (because their ability to sell more microfilms allows them to continue doing the work that they do, or in the case of publication acknowledging the source), but some may not address it. As a matter of common courtesy, most (maybe all) libraries would consider it rude for someone else to publish their contents without consent. Smaller archives might (or might not) appreciate it if they do not have the means to be able digitize their works, but nonetheless would appreciate the consideration of being asked. So your initial thought about it being a professional ethics issue is quite accurate. Most archives would like to be able to make their content available on their own terms and to show the content in its best light (preferably going back to the original artifact rather than taking generational images from a microfilm). With millions of pages waiting to be digitized and nowhere near the funding available to turn these projects around quickly, this will continue to be a slow process for almost all of us.