Cooper Smith Music Library Collection (CSMLC)

COOPER SMITH MUSIC LIBRARY COLLECTION 2024

The move from our first home at SJ Willis was required when the space was needed for the temporary home of Victoria High School. The move was organized by a transition team of an Associate Superintendent, the Associate Director of Facilities, and many teams from Facilities including carpentry, glaziers, and cartage. A team of retired music teachers planned the layout at the new site, and handled the manifest for the physical move so that all items were loaded in the truck in reverse order to that which would be needed upon arrival at the Rockheights location. The move was amazingly smooth with only a few boards and a couple of chairs moved that were not required when the CSMLC reopened in May of 2019. Thanks to all of you for making this happen.

[Volunteers from Community Choirs assisting with the inventory and assessment of the 20 cabinets of SSA choral music (concert choir and vocal jazz) in 2023. An inventory of printed resources is completed every two years, while assessment and inventory of orchestral string instruments is completed each spring following the return of student instruments.]

The volunteer Transition Team of former music teachers continued assisting the CSMLC School Library Clerk Hazel Cameron with the daunting task of organizing the collection and cataloguing it digitally. These tasks have been completed and allow the collection to be searched remotely and ensures that the status of the contents is updated overnight at the end of each working day. Current music teachers and directors of community choirs with active memberships may request specific music via email, and then pick up the music when the CSMLC is open or they may request that music be delivered to schools using school mail. The Transition Team has completed its work and will be “leaving the building” at the end of May 2024, and at this time the founders, Eileen Cooper and Bonnie Smith would like to express our gratitude and thanks to Maureen Archambault, Corine Koster, Sally Murphy, and Maureen Weston for staying with this project for many years as advisors and volunteers.

 

The collection will continue to be managed by the current team of Designated Music Specialists (volunteers) working with the CSMLC School Library Clerk and other District employees. Persons wishing to visit the collection should contact the CSMLC School Library Clerk. Preservation of valuable music resources and helping their colleagues and future District 61 music students and teachers weather the ups and downs of provincial education funding and district budget challenges was the motivation behind the development of the Cooper Smith Music Library Collection (CSMLC) by Eileen Cooper and Bonnie Smith. Smith and Cooper have been delighted with the use of the CSMLC by District 61 music ensembles and general music classes. They wanted to provide ongoing support for the library in perpetuity as long as it continues to be staffed and housed by School District #61 and supported by music teacher volunteers following current guidelines. This is why Cooper and Smith established the Cooper Smith Music Library Collection Fund (the Fund) at The Victoria Foundation in 2016. It is their hope that the Fund will be further supported with donations or bequests from others who believe in the importance of stable funding for public school music E education for young people. Persons wishing to add to the capital of the CSMLC Fund within the Victoria Foundation can find out more here.

Cooper Smith Music Library Collection Hours :

Tuesdays 3:00 – 6:00 p.m.
Wednesday 8:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Early Closing at 2:00 p.m. on the last Wednesday of each month.

CSMLC Bad Weather Protocol:
The CSMLC follows the same protocol as all schools in the Greater Victoria School District 61, following the advisories posted on the SD61 Greater Victoria website.

In addition, the following bad weather protocols will be in place for the Cooper Smith Library Collection only from December 1 – February 28.

On Tuesdays the CMLC will open and close 45 minutes earlier:
Winter hours of 2:15– 5:15 p.m. Borrowers must depart by 5:00 p.m. to allow the CSMLC Library Clerk time to lock up.
Wednesday opening will be delayed by 30 minutes:

Winter hours will be 8:30 a.m to 3:00 pm
Early Closing at 2:00 p.m On the last Wednesday of each month.

Cooper Smith Music Library Collection Hours Hours:
Tuesdays 3:00 – 6:00 p.m. Wednesday 8:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Early Closing at 2:00 p.m. on the last Wednesday of each month.

Ground Level of the B Annex in Rockheights Middle School, 1250 Highrock Avenue, Esquimalt BC.
Enter off the lower parking lot near the playing field.

To learn more about the CSMLC and its contents, click here.
To access the listings within the Collection go here. The link to the Cooper Smith Music Library Collection will be at the bottom right of the page.

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