The piano collection is our largest and second most frequently borrowed collection in the Music and Performing Arts Library. The collection was established with the opening of the Central Music Library in the Gallery of Hackett Hall (which is now part of the Museum of WA) in 1965. The complete score collection then numbered 6,000. Today just the piano collection totals approximately 6,000 scores. The scores are bound in cloth or plastic covered whilst the sheet music is loaned in protective folders. It is dominated by original pieces for solo piano. The large number of piano works provides a range beyond the standard repertoire. Various editions of some piano pieces add depth to the collection. There are numerous tutors (learning how to play), studies and sight reading scores for many grades. The collection includes piano scores for all genres: popular, jazz, blues and classical. Thematic albums are collected for film and television, musicals, dance music and marches.

Staff at the Music and Performing Arts Library are constantly looking for new additions to the piano score collection. The library purchases new scores from Europe, USA and within Australia.  The collection is developed in conjunction with the library's collection development policy - Past imperfect, future imperative : collection development at the Library and Information Service of Western Australia.

The collection is used by piano teachers, students, pianists and beginners. You too may be eligible to join the Music and Performing Arts library to borrow from the piano collection. People living in the country in Western Australia are welcome to borrow items from the collection via their local shire library.  

A highlight of the Music and Performing Arts Library Piano Score Collection is the:

Eleanor Litterick Collection
In the 1980s well known Perth performer, Mrs Eleanor Litterick donated a collection of 10,000 pieces of sheet music to the Music and Performing Arts Library. This collection of 20th century sheet music is housed separately in the stack and the collection has been named in her honour. A significant part of the Eleanor Litterick Collection is for piano including popular piano solos and arrangements for piano. The scores are indexed on computer or on card in the instrumental index. The card index has instrumental pieces including piano scores filed by title and composer.