FEB 6, 2025 | NEWS | By Aeva Dye
From M.F. DOOM to Megadeth, staff at the Seay Library of Music and Art at Colorado College say the library is acquiring new music that anyone can access.
The undertaking includes a collection management project aimed at accommodating the needs, preferences and interests of CC students in what those behind it hope will help build community.
The project, ongoing since June 2023, includes shifting and archiving underutilized materials in order to make way for new acquisitions, according to Ryan Seward, music librarian and Seay Library Manager.
These new materials, which Seward said number more than 1,600, include LPs and CDs from popular music genres and folk music traditions. Music Circulation Coordinator Dave Dymek said the new genres include rap, rock, pop, hip-hop and punk.
Dymek said when he first started working at Seay 25 years ago, the library mainly housed materials from “dead White European composers.”
While he said the library is still holding on to Beethoven and Mozart, it’s also trying to branch out, responding to evolving music education.
“We’ve been trying to get with the 21st century,” Dymek said.
He added that one mission of the library’s collection management project is to build community by acquiring materials “of relevance to these turbulent times — to diversity.”
Seay, which Seward said houses one of the largest liberal arts music collections in the Western United States, isn’t just open to CC students. It’s available to anyone with a library card from a Colorado Libraries Collaborate member library. The library’s facilities include loanable music scores and literature, LPs, DVDs, CDs and disk readers available for check-out. It also includes a multi-purpose study area, a listening room, a digital stage piano and free coffee and tea.
Seward said that when he arrived at Seay in 2023, there was “hardly any room” for developing a more relevant and diverse collection.
The library has since begun deaccessioning and relocating underutilized materials to make way for resources representing “historically marginalized” cultures and ideas in music, academia and society, Seward said.
Another part of the undertaking includes implementing new display methods which make the library’s readable and listenable materials more accessible — like LP shelves which help the library appear like a “current record store.”
Dymek said the project isn’t just about the library’s collection. The new collections and displays are aimed at making the library more appealing and relevant, increasing community engagement.
“I think it’s working,” Dymek said. “Students come in and discover, ‘Oh wow, you’ve got this Run-DMC album. I want to check that out.’”
Dymek also mentioned his hope for the future of Seay as a place for gathering. Seay has been the site of student-run poetry and music events. Currently, Seay hosts Blockly events with pizza and guest speakers, which draw members of the community.
“We want to make this an area for not just … checking out library stuff, but also an area where students can be creative with their musical knowledge,” Dymek said.
“We’re trying to promote ourselves as a place for gatherings,” he added. “For creativity.”
NOTE: This story has been updated to reflect the titles of individuals and other information more accurately.