iSchool Capstone

Musical Metadata: Creating a Dynamic Sheet Music & Instrument Catalog for Seattle JazzED

Project tags:

database administration & development

information architecture

information behavior & user research

Project poster

Seattle JazzED, a music education non-profit, has two substantial and growing collections: sheet music used by instructors and instruments lent to students. Because neither collection was inventoried, it was difficult for JazzED staff to track where instruments were or what song arrangements had already been purchased. We created a database for, and cataloged, JazzED’s non-bibliographic resources using custom metadata built around their needs. We constructed the database on a cloud-based platform, allowing staff and instructors to easily share and edit entries, check out instruments, make notes about repairs, and search for songs by skill level, style, and more. This project provides JazzED with a personalized system that saves their staff precious time and energy, which in turn supports their mission to empower students of all backgrounds. By dramatically expanding JazzED’s ability to manage their resources, we have contributed to their powerful impact on students and music education in our community.

Project participants:

Greta Pittenger

MLIS

Jacob Shepard

MLIS

Michael Wallenfels

MLIS