The first library was created after the proposal of a group of Nisseni musicians along with the foundation of the Liceo Musicale “V.Bellini” on the initiative of the Provincial Administration of Caltanissetta in 1975.
In 1979, the “Liceo Musicale” takes the name of Musical Institute “V.Bellini” legally ascribing itself in the list of the current Institutions of Higher Artistic and Musical Education as part of the organization of the Provincial Administration, as one of the most efficient in the field of cultural services, so much so as to deserve a particular action to encourage the activity.
Since 1985 the Institute has exceptionally established itself locally nationally and internationally. The Institute receives wide benefits also through the allocation of funds for the library, substantial funding that is best used by the operators involved with constant and careful activity, not only administrative but also managerial.
The renovation of the library in 1988 began with the cataloguing of the existing didactic book material, arranging it organically in the restricted amount of space available at the time.
In 1993 the Institute moved to the current premises. The library has greatly benefited thanks to the provision of furnishings suitable for the purpose, as well as the computerization of the service that made it easier to verify and therefore increase the bibliographic heritage, with the purchase of scores, parts and orchestral scores, of the most important encyclopedic musical works and specialized non-fiction (History, Musicology, etc.); even the discography,
was enriched with a considerable amount of compact discs and video cassettes.
We have recently proceeded to further catalogue the didactic material to better control loans, planning purchases and above all to allow the consultation of catalogues on the Web through the Institute’s Website.
The library is organized into 3 sections divided into Classes and subclasses:
music catalogue ca. 5000 vols.
musical culture and music theory ca. 700 vols
sound library ca.1500 records with over 4000 musical titles;
The system used for cataloguing was the “Manual of musical cataloguing” by M.Donà, E. Zanetti and A. Zecca Laterza (published by the Central Institute for the Single Catalog of Italian Libraries, Rome 1979) along with the “Contribution to a practical cataloguing guide for the Libraries annexed to the Conservatories”, by Agostina Zecca Laterza published by Dedalo, Bari 1967.
In conclusion, we are planning to set up the newspaper library as a fundamental tool for the knowledge and the study of current trends in musical research, critical orientations and historical research of the immense musical heritage produced by man from the discovery of instrumental and vocal sound to date.
