ABSTRACT
Participatory arts in the UK are thriving, and loans of performance materials continue to increase. Many performances depend, sometimes unwittingly, upon printed music and drama scripts loaned by libraries. The demands for performance materials are such that many music and drama libraries struggle to obtain and supply material on time for the beginnings of loan periods requested. The situation developed with the expansion of library services serving the expanding demand for amateur music-making: those who had developed a taste for the choir or orchestra at schools were now looking for similar provision in the community. By the end of the twentieth century, there was a highly developed network of libraries of various kinds, offering a service, some still free, others charging, with so much interlibrary loan traffic that it amounted to a national service, delivered through regional outlets.
