The music library is a specialized branch of Van Wylen that, as the name suggests, contains the library’s music collection. Located on the east side of Nykerk Hall, this branch of the library includes performance materials such as scores, CDs and DVDs of a musical nature, and a substantial amount of scholarly and instructional material used by both students and faculty.
The materials in the music library aren’t limited to classical recordings made by prominent orchestras. In fact, the library actually has a large collection of Broadway recordings and recordings made by Hope ensembles, faculty members, and guest performers.
The music library is staffed by twelve student workers and John Hoyer, the Music Library Associate. Hoyer has been working at Hope for ten years. He began working for libraries about twenty years ago doing telephone reference for a public library in Grand Rapids. He came to Hope after hearing about the job from a friend. Now, he performs a variety of tasks related to the music library, including cataloging, supervising student workers, collection development, and music reference work for students and faculty.
“Music reference work, in fact, is what Hoyer considers to be the most interesting part about his job.
“I like helping people find materials and get answers,” Hoyer said.
The music library is open from 8 a.m to 11 p.m. Monday through Thursday, Friday 8-5, Saturday 1-4, and Sunday 3-11. Feel free to stop by some time and discover all that the music library has to offer!