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Holling Smith-Borne, director of the Anne Potter Wilson Music Library at Vanderbilt University, has been elected president of the Music Library Association, the premier professional organization for music libraries and librarianship in the United States. Currently serving a one-year term as vice-president of MLA, Smith-Borne will begin his two-year term as president in 2027 to be followed by an additional year as past president. During this time, he will continue in his role as Wilson Music Library director.
Founded in 1931, MLA supports, preserves and enhances equitable access to the world’s musical heritage. The association officially merged with the U.S. branch of the International Association of Music Libraries, Archives and Documentation Centres in 2011 to integrate music librarianship worldwide. MLA now boasts an international membership of librarians, musicians, scholars, educators and members of the book and music trades. It also serves corporations, institutions, students, composers, scholars and others whose work and interests lie in the music librarianship field.
As president, Smith-Borne will serve as MLA’s chief executive officer, preside over its board and membership meetings, and represent the organization externally. He also will be responsible for promoting membership growth, making key decisions about the association’s strategic and financial direction, and assisting with annual conference planning.
Smith-Borne has long been an active member of MLA. He completed a term as member-at-large on the Board of Directors and has chaired various committees, subcommittees and roundtables.
“Holling Smith-Borne’s extensive leadership experience, his deep dedication to music librarianship, and his expertise in collection development and digital preservation make him an excellent choice to lead the Music Library Association,” Vanderbilt University Librarian Jon Shaw said. “I am delighted that Holling has been elevated to this prominent role.”
Since 2006, Smith-Borne has been director of the Wilson Music Library at Vanderbilt’s Blair School of Music, where his leadership of an initiative to bolster the Jean and Alexander Heard Libraries’ African American music archives has demonstrated his strong commitment to collection development and diverse programming. Previously, he was coordinator of the music library at DePauw University (1997–2006) and served as the music and fine arts librarian at Butler University (1992–97). He holds a bachelor’s in piano performance from Bowling Green State University and a master’s in information and library science from the University of Michigan with a specialization in music librarianship.
“It is an honor to be entrusted with the opportunity to serve as president of the Music Library Association,” Smith-Borne said. “This role represents not only a chance to lead but also to collaborate with an extraordinary community dedicated to advancing music librarianship.”