H. Robert Cohen Center for the Musical Press: Preservation, Research, and Dissemination
The H. Robert Cohen Center for the Musical Press was founded in 2026 to honor the half century of devoted service to the organization by its founder. The Center serves to advance the appreciation of the historical and performance-related value of the musical press within two musical traditions: the European classical tradition to 1966, and jazz music, throughout its history. Its task is accomplished by pursuing a tripartite mission: preserving (often reconstructing) the journals, engaging in ongoing research, and disseminating RIPM’s extensive, unique archive worldwide on the internet. The Center serves as the hub of all these activities; it is the permanent home of RIPM.
RIPM has created a digital archive, with refined access tools, of recognized international importance. It preserves the contents of rare and neglected sources that provide a rich and vast chronicle of musical and cultural history extending over three hundred years. In effect, RIPM permits one to view music and musical life as it was perceived by its contemporaries.
The H. Robert Cohen Center also supports scholarly research on and with these sources, and the continuing growth of professional music librarians through a publication award, a research grant, and travel awards. These include:
The H. Robert Cohen / RIPM Award for Outstanding Scholarly Publication Based on the Musical Press. A committee of the American Musicological Society has administered the award since its creation in 2018.
The H. Robert Cohen / RIPM Fund for Research based on the Musical Press. A committee of the American Musicological Society has administered the award since its creation in 2019.
The Liesbeth Hoedemaeker-Cohen Fund for IAML Congress Travel. The fund supports travel to the annual congress of the International Association of Music Libraries, Archives, and Documentation Centres for early-career music librarians. Established in 2017, it is supported by the Cohen Family Charitable Fund and administered by a IAML committee.
The H. Robert Cohen / RIPM Fund for IAML Congress Travel. The fund supports travel to the annual congress of the International Association of Music Libraries, Archives, and Documentation Centres for early-career music librarians. Established in 2019, it is supported by the Cohen Family Charitable Fund and administered by a IAML committee.