Our open letter on the future of the National Library Music Hire Service
The below letter was shared with Ministers and key stakeholders in response to the proposal to reduce the National Library Music Hire Service and cease the Music Librarian position.
Open letter: Protect the National Library Music Hire Service
To:
Hon Brooke van Velden, Minister of Internal Affairs
Hon Paul Goldsmith, Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage
Paul James, Chief Executive and Secretary for Internal Affairs
Rachel Esson, National Librarian
Jessica Moran, Chief Librarian and Director of Library Collections
Subject: Proposed closure of the National Library Music Hire Service
Tēnā koutou,
On behalf of Orpheus Choir Wellington, we strongly oppose the proposed closure of the National Library Music Hire Service and the removal of the specialist Music Librarian position.
Established in 1952, Orpheus Choir Wellington is one of New Zealand’s largest symphonic choirs, with approximately 170 auditioned singers. Access to complete, reliable sets of performance scores is fundamental to the work we do.
For a choir of our size, purchasing scores for every concert is neither financially sustainable nor practical. Music hire allows us to perform major repertoire while directing limited resources towards artists, musicians, venues, production and audience access.
We have experienced first-hand what happens when suitable material cannot be sourced locally. On one recent project, scores sourced from an international publisher cost around ten times the cost of local hire. Overseas sourcing also brings freight costs, import duties and charges, exchange-rate risk and delays. When 170 singers need the correct edition at the same time, this can jeopardise an entire rehearsal process.
Without the National Library Music Hire Service, experiences like this would become far more common.
But this is not simply about retaining shelves of scores. It is about retaining the specialist expertise that makes those collections usable.
A Music Librarian must understand editions, instrumentation, vocal and orchestral forces, publishers, score and part formats, completeness of sets, cataloguing, copyright and the practical requirements of performers. A general librarian cannot reasonably be expected to identify whether a performance set is complete, whether parts belong to the correct edition, or whether the material is actually suitable for the forces involved.
That specialist knowledge is the service.
Removing the Music Librarian position would not simply reduce staffing. It would remove the National Library’s dedicated music expertise altogether. Given the breadth of New Zealand’s musical life, this specialist function already appears to rest on a single position.
The Music Hire Service is also vital to New Zealand music. By maintaining and administering performance sets by New Zealand composers, including important orchestral collections such as works by Douglas Lilburn, the National Library enables this music to be performed rather than merely preserved.
A collection can remain safely stored and still become effectively inaccessible.
The consequences of closure would be felt across choirs, orchestras, bands, schools and community ensembles. Costs would rise, repertoire choices would narrow, and smaller organisations would be hit hardest.
We therefore ask that:
the proposed closure of the National Library Music Hire Service be halted
the specialist Music Librarian position be retained
meaningful consultation be undertaken with the music sector before any decision is made
alternative models be explored that preserve both the collection and a professionally administered national hire service
As Orpheus Choir Wellington prepares to celebrate its 75th anniversary in 2027, we are acutely aware that cultural institutions survive because successive generations choose to protect the infrastructure that supports them.
The National Library Music Hire Service is part of that infrastructure. So is the specialist Music Librarian who makes it work.
We urge you to recognise the Music Hire Service as an essential national cultural resource and to work with the sector to secure its future.
Ngā mihi nui,
Orpheus Choir Wellington