March 26, 2003 Library Receives Musical Scores from the Israel Music Institute

The Israel Music Institute (IMI) is giving to the Library of Congress nearly 1,000 items on an exchange basis. To date, nearly 400 items -- predominantly sheet music -- have been received and others are expected to arrive in smaller shipments. In return, IMI is selecting books from the Library's list of offerings available on exchange.

"The Library is pleased to add the works of Israeli composers to its music collection totaling more than 5 million items," said Librarian of Congress James H. Billington. "This material will increase the Library's holdings of music from that part of the world and be of great interest to researchers."

The IMI's donation to the Library includes representative works of leading contemporary Israeli composers in a variety of formats, ranging from solo instrumental pieces to large scale orchestral and choral works. Some of the composers are Paul Ben Haim, Tzvi Avni, Yehezkel Braun and Menahem Avidom. The scores will be cataloged and the bibliographic records will be made available to researchers worldwide through the Library's online catalog at www.loc.gov.

Established in 1961 by the Public Committee for Arts and Culture to publish and promote Israeli music, IMI is the only publicly-owned publishing house in Israel. Supported by the Israel Ministry of Education and Culture, IMI has acquired the rights to more than 1,750 compositions by some 160 Israeli composers. Approximately 75 percent of the works under IMI copyright have appeared in print. More information about IMI can be found at www.imi.org.il.