As universities emerged in the 12th century, libraries formed throughout Europe, and obtained donations or gifts from monasteries and private collectors.
The advent of national and centralized libraries two centuries later allowed for greater attention to special materials like music collections.
Up to the end of the 15th century, music collections had been limited to religious organizations, private collectors, or small areas of university libraries.
Public collections grew with the development of printing at the end of the 15th century and the surge of scholarly and artistic endeavors of the Renaissance.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, the establishment of conservatories created a need for music collections that supported learning at those institutions.
Additionally, many librarians elect to participate in continuing education classes and programs available through professional organizations and other outlets.
Librarians training for a position that involves a new technology might apply to classes offered by external companies in specific software or hardware.
The ultimate goal of music library education is to engender core competencies in students preparing to enter the field.
Reading ability in German and Romance languages are practical skills to possess when working closely with western classical music.
This involves not only contact with publishers and other agencies that provide music materials, but also budgetary management of library funds.
Appropriate air regulation prevents the accumulation of moisture, and materials should be protected from the possibility of water or fire damage.
Music library staff usually allocate part of their duties to managing binding and processing of scores.
Light protection, temperature and humidity control, and particular shelving, packaging, and cleaning procedures must be followed for proper storage for preserving physical materials.
Digitization is also the process of transferring audio formats (for example, converting music on an LP record to mp3).
These are usually hosted on the Internet or a network, and most often electronic access is limited to specific user groups (sometimes by subscription).
Information professionals involved with these projects deal with issues such as streaming, security and access, copy protection and copyright, and database management.
Professional organizations related to music librarianship include: Additionally, music librarians will find support from academic and corporate institutions that offer grants, continuing education, inter-institutional cooperation (such as interlibrary loan or out-sourced services like digitization), and resources aiding in the completion of tasks in the field.
Digitization problems and electronic bibliographic, reference and archival tools are also at the front lines of the field as library technology moves forward.
Major field publications such as Notes (the MLA's quarterly journal), as well as email listservs, forums, and presentations at meetings of professional organizations, highlight and analyze key trends in music librarianship.