For volunteer music librarians
Music Library Software for community band librarians
From the score on the shelf to a packed folder on every stand. Scan the parts list, count your sets, then pull, build and pack each concert's folders, with the pull sheet, build sheet and labels printed for you.
90-day free trial · No credit card · Music Folders on every plan
Scan, count, pull, build, pack
Music Folders turns a concert program and a seating chart into everything the librarian used to work out by hand. A card at the top always says what to do next, with the one button that does it.
Scan
Photograph the score’s parts list
Point your phone at the instrumentation page and the parts list is read as printed: 1st, 2nd and 3rd Bb Clarinet, not just “clarinets.” Parts the publisher sells separately are noted and kept out of the box. Any piece on the program that still needs a scan is named, with a Scan button right there.
Count
Count your sets your way
Tap Count as printed and every part nobody has counted yet takes the publisher’s printed count, with the date and your name on it. Or count by hand, part by part. A hand count is never overwritten, and a part nobody has counted reads “not counted,” never zero.
Pull
Walk the cabinet with a pull list
For each piece: how many copies of each part to pull for this concert’s folders. Tick pieces off as you pull them. Where you’re short a part, you see it before rehearsal and decide what to do about it, rather than finding out on the night.
Build
Numbered folders, filled from the seating chart
Folders take their numbers from your scheme (CB-01, CB-02) and their players from the seating chart, and a chair gets the same physical folder it had last concert. If the program or the roster changes, the folders update themselves until packing starts; after that, one tap applies the change and prints a changes sheet.
Pack
Tick pieces into each folder
Check each piece into each folder as you pack. Packed folders roll up out of the list, so what’s left on screen is what’s left on the table.
On a phone it shows one step at a time, so the librarian can work from the cabinet.
What prints
Some of this work happens at a table with a stack of folders, not at a screen. These print from any browser, or save as PDF.
| Sheet | What it's for |
|---|---|
| Pull sheet | Your cabinet walk: one page per piece in large type, the copies of each part to pull, and a list of what you’re short at the end. |
| Build sheet | Every folder from lowest number to highest with its part and player, then a page for each section. |
| Changes sheet | After a program change, only what to add to or take out of each folder. |
| Folder labels | The player’s part in large type, the folder number and your band’s name, four to a sheet with cut marks. Only the new folders, every folder, chosen numbers, or blank labels to write on. |
Set up the way your band already works
The first time an ensemble opens Music Folders, four questions set it up. Change any answer later.
- Folder numbers: an optional two-letter prefix per ensemble, so CB-01 and JB-01 can live side by side.
- Labels: new labels every concert, or folders that carry over from one concert to the next.
- How many folders: a set number per instrument and chair (usually the copies you own), or one per performing member.
- Where the music lives: it goes home with players, or it's collected after every rehearsal.
Percussion folders follow the music: Percussion 1, 2 and so on, Mallets and Timpani, as many as the program's parts call for. Doubling books, solo books and cornet parts on trumpet chairs are dealt into the right folders too.
Getting your library in
Nobody should have to retype a library that took twenty years to build.
Bring your catalog in as it is
A spreadsheet with columns named COMP and GRD, a PDF export, a Word document or a photo of a card file: Smart Import works out what the columns mean and you check the result before anything is saved.
Look a piece up instead of typing it
Add a title and the shared catalog fills in what other bands have already entered: composer, arranger, grade, duration, publisher. For a piece that’s new to the catalog, the publisher’s page is checked for the details. You look them over and save.
Edit the whole library in a spreadsheet
Export the library to CSV, fix a season’s worth of composers or cabinet numbers in a spreadsheet, and import it back. A blank cell never erases what’s already there.
Library Health: the check-up page
One page lists what the catalog is missing and which parts have never been counted, so gaps get filled before a concert needs them.
The rest of the librarian's week
Checkout is per piece. Mark a piece out of the library when it goes out for a concert and back in when it returns. How parts reach the players is up to your band. Ensembles where players keep their own parts, like a jazz combo, can be set to manage themselves, and the checkout reminders stop for that group.
New music can start as pending: pending purchase, pending delivery or pending donation, so the treasurer hears about a purchase when it happens, not when the invoice arrives.
The record stays with the band. When a librarian steps down, the next one is given the Librarian title and inherits the whole library, counts and history included.
Every piece you played, on ACB's form
Bands under the ACB blanket license send in a list of every piece they performed each year. Because your concerts and programs are already in Backstage Baton, the music usage report builds that list for any dates you pick and downloads it in ACB's own layout.
How the ACB music usage report works →How we handle copyright
- Your score photos stay private to your band. Other bands never see them.
- The shared catalog holds facts about a piece (title, composer, arranger, grade, the printed parts list), never your photos, your counts or your concerts.
- Backstage Baton doesn't host or hand out sheet music. It keeps track of what your band owns and what it performed.
Read more
One-page PDF
Music Folders at a Glance
The three steps, what the system works out for you, and what prints. Handy for a board meeting.
Librarian's guide (PDF)
Music Folders: Librarian's Guide
Setup, numbering, scanning, the pull list, building, labels and packing, step by step.
Librarian features
Features for Librarians
The rest of the librarian tour, next to the other roles in your band.
Frequently asked questions
Is Music Folders on both plans?
Yes. Music Folders, the score scan, Smart Import, catalog lookup and the ACB music usage report are on Essentials and Complete.
Do we have to count every part before we can use it?
No. Count as printed fills in the publisher’s printed count for every part nobody has counted yet, in one tap, and you can correct any part by hand later. A part nobody has counted shows as not counted, never as zero, so the pull list never guesses.
What happens when the program changes after the folders are built?
Until packing starts, the folders update themselves. After that, one tap applies the change and prints a changes sheet listing only what to add to or take out of each folder, plus labels for any new folders.
How does checkout work?
Checkout is per piece: mark a piece out of the library when it goes out for a concert and back in when it returns. How parts reach the players is up to your band.
Can the librarian role stay limited to the library?
Yes. The librarian gets the music library, Music Folders, checkout, the missing-parts lists and the member list for following up on parts, without the band’s money, member editing or settings.
Does it work for orchestra, jazz or choir?
It’s built first for bands, and it works for orchestras, jazz ensembles and choirs too. Each piece keeps its parts list exactly as printed, whatever the parts are.
Is our library shared with other bands?
No. Your library, your counts, your concerts and your score photos are private to your band. The shared catalog only holds facts about a piece, like its composer and printed parts list, so the next band doesn’t have to type them.
Your next concert's folders, worked out for you
90-day free trial, no credit card. Bring your catalog in as it is, scan the program's scores, and the pull list is ready.