Confusion and fear over National Music Library threat
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Why are choirs, bands and orchestras fearing the loss of the National Library Music Hire Service?
I'm Alexia Russell and today on The Detail... There's been a chorus of complaints from choirs, bands and orchestras around the country worried they'll be cut off from a national service that delivers free or cheap sheet music. Their message? Don't get rid of the National Library Music Hire Service.
I've just finished singing in a performance to Carmen with Nota Bene in Wellington and, you know, the scores were hired from National Library and that project wouldn't have been viable if Nota Bene had had to hire the scores from overseas,
which can run to thousands of dollars. The alarm was raised in a proposal put to National Library and Archives staff about cuts to the wider workforce. Among the 49 positions to be disestablished, the experienced librarian who looks after the sheet music collection. The wording and documents sent out to employees... was carefully couched in corporate human relations language. It
says, in the access services team, due to our financial pressures, we are proposing to cease the music access service as it is currently delivered. We would work with Kaimahi to consider what transition arrangements may be needed to minimise customer impact, including assisting customers to move to alternative services.
But when we asked the Department of Internal Affairs what was going on, The answer came back, the Music Hire Service is not being discontinued. It's misinformation. The media and the union have got it wrong. I asked the PSA what's going on here.
It is very clear there has been no misinformation. People are right to be worried. The reality is the change proposal document and the communication to staff says the proposal is to cease the Music Access Service. That is black and white.
I think it's great that the messaging that's coming out of National Library now is, no, no, we're not going to stop the service. That's great to hear. I would contest that that wasn't necessarily off the cards when they first wrote that proposal document, but it's great to hear that they're saying the service will continue. But we're still really concerned about the lack of consultation with users of the service as to what a new delivery method might look like, what it would involve.
If that voice sounds familiar, you're probably an RNZ concert listener. It's Christine Argyle, former host at the station, who's now the chief executive of the New Zealand Choral Federation.
What does the change proposal document say about ceasing the Music Access Service?
As for the music, that was O Fortuna from Kamina Burana, which is a frequent hire from the National Library, and it's performed by the Orpheus Choir and Orchestra Wellington, recorded by RNZ. RNZ's Library of Sheet Music was transferred to the National Library in 1987 in order to preserve it. There was a lot of it and it was said at the time to be one of the most valuable collections of its kind in Australasia. Now there are more than 4,700 orchestral sets, 2,500 plus choral sets and nearly 600 for bands.
MUSIC PLAYS
Now if you think this is a very niche subject to explore, the details inbox would seek to disagree. There are tens of thousands of people who sing and play, either professionally or in their spare time, most of them in community organisations with very little funding. Fleur Fitzsimons is the National Secretary of the Public Service Association, whose members work at the National Library.
We've just been overwhelmed by this government's cuts to the public service. They have been consistently decimating government departments and we're seeing the impact every day. And what we know is that we're going to see the impact for generations to come. It's not just in the short term.
Now, when I saw that 49 positions were being cut at the National Library and Archives, it didn't really resonate because I don't really know what they do. But then we started getting a lot of emails saying, I'm in a choir and I'm really worried that we're going to have to start paying extreme amounts for our choral music or our sheet music. It's a tiny part of this latest move by DIA, isn't it?
Well, those choirs and orchestras are right to be worried.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
Why are choirs, bands and orchestras fearing the loss of the National Library Music Hire Service?
0:00–2:45
2
What does the change proposal document say about ceasing the Music Access Service?
2:45–6:04
3
How does the National Library’s music hire service keep performances affordable compared to overseas hiring?
6:04–7:43
4
What impact would cutting the specialised music librarian have on service quality and navigation?
7:43–10:14
5
Why do musicians argue that the Ministry’s claim of ‘no cuts’ is misinformation?
10:14–12:07
6
How would a shift to digital or volunteer‑run alternatives affect the cost and usability for community groups?
12:07–15:37
7
What broader cultural consequences do experts warn about if public‑service music archives are reduced?
15:37–18:17
8
What actions are musicians and unions calling for to protect the National Library’s music collection?
18:17–21:01