Kathleen Parlow: A Life in Letters - The Development of a Framework for Correspondence Collections...

Kathleen ParlowA Life in Letters

Lelland Reed | July 5th 2016

International Association of Music Libraries Congress, Rome, Italy

Introduction

Right [Leopold Auer correspondence to Minnie Parlow containing 1 photograph, January 20

1908]. corr_0041-1. Box 5, Folder 8. The Kathleen Parlow Collection. University of

Toronto Faculty of Music Library, Toronto, ON.

Left [Postcards with Image of Kathleen Parlow]. corr_0387-13. Box 7, Folder 19. The

Kathleen Parlow Collection. University of Toronto Faculty of Music Library, Toronto, ON.

The Kathleen Parlow Collection at the

University of Toronto Music Library

Collection contents include:

Engagement diaries

Musical scores and parts

Photographs

Press notices

Concert Programs

Miscellaneous items (newspaper clippings/transcriptions, other ephemera)

Correspondence

Correspondence collection contents include:

429 correspondence items

Authored between 1868-1967

Correspondence formats include handwritten and typeset letters, postcards, telegrams, cards, invitations

Attached materials including photographs, musical scores, newspaper clippings and other ephemera

[Pastor J.C. Herdman letter to Minnie Parlow, February 2 1896]. corr_0002. Box 5, Folder 2.The Kathleen Parlow

Collection. University of Toronto Faculty of Music Library, Toronto, ON.

[Pastor J.C. Herdman letter to Minnie Parlow, February 2 1896]. corr_0002. Box 5, Folder 2.The Kathleen Parlow Collection. University

of Toronto Faculty of Music Library, Toronto, ON.

[Cross-hatched letter to Minnie Parlow, February 1 1897]. corr_0004. Box 5, Folder 3.The

Kathleen Parlow Collection. University of Toronto Faculty of Music Library, Toronto, ON.

[Johan Halvorsen letter to Kathleen Parlow, November 12 1908]. corr_0054. Box 5,

Folder 8. The Kathleen Parlow Collection. University of Toronto Faculty of Music

Library, Toronto, ON.

[Hans Schouwman letter to Kathleen Parlow, April 21 1916?]. corr_0135. Box 5, Folder 19. The

Kathleen Parlow Collection. University of Toronto Faculty of Music Library, Toronto, ON.

[Hans Schouwman letter to Kathleen Parlow, April 21 1916?]. corr_0135. Box 5,

Folder 19. The Kathleen Parlow Collection. University of Toronto Faculty of

Music Library, Toronto, ON.

[Hans Schouwman letter to Kathleen Parlow, April 21 1916?]. corr_0135. Box 5,

Folder 19. The Kathleen Parlow Collection. University of Toronto Faculty of Music

Library, Toronto, ON.

[Hans Schouwman letter to Kathleen Parlow, April 21 1916?]. corr_0135. Box 5, Folder 19. The

Kathleen Parlow Collection. University of Toronto Faculty of Music Library, Toronto, ON.

[Leopold Auer letter to Kathleen Parlow, September 16 1917] .

corr_0130. Box 5, Folder 17. The Kathleen Parlow Collection.

University of Toronto Faculty of Music Library, Toronto, ON.

[Leopold Auer letter to Kathleen Parlow, September 16 1917] . corr_0130. Box

5, Folder 17. The Kathleen Parlow Collection. University of Toronto Faculty

of Music Library, Toronto, ON.

[Margaret Moscheles letter to Kathleen Parlow, May 20 1926]. corr_0165. Box 6, Folder 7.

The Kathleen Parlow Collection. University of Toronto Faculty of Music Library, Toronto,

ON.

[Margaret Moscheles letter to Kathleen Parlow, May 20 1926]. corr_0165. Box 6,

Folder 7. The Kathleen Parlow Collection. University of Toronto Faculty of Music

Library, Toronto, ON.

[Margaret Moscheles letter to Kathleen Parlow, May 20 1926]. corr_0165. Box 6, Folder 7.

The Kathleen Parlow Collection. University of Toronto Faculty of Music Library, Toronto,

ON.

Challenges Associated With Arrangement and

Description of Correspondence Materials

Deciding what is and is not correspondence materials

Drawing the line between personal and business

correspondence

Identifying signatures

Working with many languages

Deciding on an approach to describing the subject of

correspondence materials

Tips for Librarians Working With

Correspondence Archival Materials

Allow for time to get to know the collection

Be prepared to do research

Seek out language specialists if needed and feasible

The Virtual International Authority File (VIAF) will be your best friend in the event you are working with an

international collection

The MODS <note> field will be your other best friend

The MODS <relatedItem> field can be used to create connections within the collection and broader communities

The Importance of Correspondence

Materials

Correspondence materials can provide testimony to

events, happenings, and people of the past

Correspondence materials can supplement other

primary source materials

Correspondence materials demonstrate the evolving

nature of communication

Correspondence materials provide us with detailed

pictures of peoples lives

Thank You!I would like to thank UofT Faculty of Music Librarians Suzanne

Meyers Sawa, James Mason, and Houman Behzadi who supervised this project, as well as the wonderful staff at the Faculty of Music

Library.