Contact: Dustin Barnes
STARKVILLE, Miss.--Since the time of early American patriots, songs have served to inspire hope and pride in country. As long as the Stars and Stripes has waved over the United States, music repeatedly has been used to rally the populace in times of war and peace.
As part of Mississippi State's Charles H. Templeton Collection, scores of these patriotic tunes, including original sheet music for George M. Cohan's World War I-era classic "Over There," now may be heard and seen by the general public.
In addition to displaying samples of the vast archive, making its contents globally accessible remains an ongoing project at the university's Mitchell Memorial Library.
"We have been digitizing the collection in order to make the sheet music available online," said Stephen Cunetto, the library's project coordinator. "Researchers around the world are using the music for their research and personal needs."
Named after the late Starkville businessman and music aficionado responsible for building the collection over decades, the library-housed anthology features more than 22,000 late 19th-early 20th century pieces. Portions of the sheet music, along with a range of sound reproduction and related machines, permanently are displayed in new fourth-floor quarters.
Cunetto said the displayed materials routinely are rotated throughout the year, giving visitors a chance to view several styles of music at any given time.
For more information, visit http://library.msstate.edu/ragtime. Cunetto may be reached at scunetto@library.msstate.edu or 662-325-8542.