Library customers are interested in specific detailed information as well as more extensive topics related to music. Answers to both kinds of queries can be found with the help of the library database. Information is also searched by browsing the shelves. Finnish public libraries use the Finnish Public Libraries Classification System for shelf classification. Shelf arrangement according to the classification system can be confusing and difficult for patrons.

This thesis aims to improve the accessibility and findability of music materials by creating an alternative and more user-friendly shelf arrangement for the commissioner’s collection of Western art music recordings. This thesis is commissioned by Raahe City Library.

This project-based thesis discusses shelf arrangements of library collections from the viewpoint of music materials and the factors affecting and contributing to libraries’ shelf arrangements. The second part of the study introduces briefly the periods of Western art music chosen for the basis of the new the shelf arrangement.

The research method approach of this qualitative study was content analysis. The art music recordings of Raahe City Library were divided into the historical periods of Western art music. A music recording can contain either one work by one composer or several works by one or more composers, sometimes in different periods. This collective nature of music recordings made the rearrangement of materials more challenging.

The empirical study shows that despite the collective nature of the recordings, nearly all of them could be grouped according to the periods of art music. The result of this functional thesis was the creation of an alternative shelf arrangement for Raahe City Library’s art music recordings. The new shelf arrangement combines the eras of Western art music and the music section of Finnish Public Libraries Classification System.

This functional thesis and its results can be used for improving library services and especially for rearranging library materials. A follow-up study topic could involve conducting a customer survey on the impact of shelf arrangement on findability of music materials. It would also be beneficial to conduct a broader survey on the shelf arrangements of music materials in Finnish public libraries.