Global Music Centre (National Library of Finland)

Based in Helsinki, Finland, the Global Music Centre (National Library of Finland) has archives which contain recordings produced on field trips, particularly among the Finno-Ugric peoples, and on trips to Africa and Latin America. Information about the archives is continually updated on the Dismarc database. The centre is an institute whose key task is to collate record and distribute information about global music culture. The aim of Dismarc (Discovering Music archives) is to bring together the resources of European music archives in one database. The centre has made numerous field trips for recording purposes. Its mobile studio has visited various countries including Ethiopia, Tanzania, Zanzibar, Setumaa, Udmurtia, Mordova, Cuba, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Tuva and Senegal.

The library resources of the Global Music Centre form an extensive ethnomusicological collection of music and literature from different countries around the world, plus a collection based on popular culture studies. Communications, different ways of producing music, culture politics, global education and multiculturalism are other key themes. The resources comprise over 10,000 items including books, sound recordings, sheet music and videos. The collections are catalogued in the Melinda and Viola databases maintained by the National Library of Finland. All the resources catalogued in the library and the archives are accessible via the Koha database.

Library provides a service for students, professionals and amateurs working in the world-music field. There is a work station for the use of researchers and provision for listening to sound recordings.

The centre also subscribes to a wide selection of music journals which can be read on the Centre’s premises.