How large is your schola, and how formally integrated into the parish music program? A church that is serious about its music will have the requisite number of libers, octavos, anthem anthologies, hymnals, and all, to be used by its choirs and scholas. No, choristers and scholars do not buy their own music. I shouldn't think that libers would be an exception. As for being given a liber? No. Parish music is provided for use, not given for to possess.

On the other hand, if your schola is, like some, small and not well enmeshed in the parish music program it isn't unherad of for each scholar to acquire his own liber. Though some serious scholars will want to own their own libers, none should be required to do so. Too, libers are rather expensive and the cost, if required, might cost you a scholar who can't afford one. Also too, when a church invests in the music for its choirs and scholas it is a statement that these entities are valued highly, taken seriously, and provided for adequately.

Different book, but we've recently acquired hymnals for the choir. I stamped them all with the parish name and numbered each one. They are loaned out and I keep track of who has which number, and it is explained that they are to return the book if leaving the ministry for any reason, "OR WE WILL FIND YOU!" Any markings they wish to make must be done lightly and in pencil.

In my old schola, the libers were owned by the TLM society, numbered on the inside cover, given to singers as long as they continued to sing with us, and tracked in a spreadsheet by the director before me, and then by me.

In my current parish, where I am a singer and not director, many of the gentlemen have purchased their own LB or LU, but there is also a supply in the loft for those who have not.

Our choir sings at the EF, but none of our choir members sing (directly) from the Liber Usualis or Liber Brevior, even though we sing the proper Gregorian chants of the Mass. I do not advise people to buy a Liber unless they really want one for other reasons, for example to learn more about the Office. Singers are strongly encouraged to mark their music during rehearsal, but I do not advise marking an expensive chant book. All of the chants of the Mass are available for printing from the Internet in formats that are much easier to read than the Liber, so IMO there's no need for a "choir loft" choir to use small-format heavy choir books.

The simple answer regarding storage of printed copies is: We don't! In our choir loft we don't store anything because it's territory owned by the OF. Most of the printed proper Gregorian chants end up recycled, although some singers keep theirs for the following year (as do I). I store our polyphonic sheet music at home and bring what we need to Mass. [BTW, the ferias of Lent are laid out here.]

>> during Holy week we sing from booklets to avoid problems with different editions.

yes!! Back in the 80s the convents were dumping the Latin I suppose, as I was able to buy a good number of LU copies especially from UK. Through the good efforts of the SSPX and now the TLM to keep the old liturgy & music alive, the options have expanded.

Those secondhand copies with widely varying publish dates are now our 'loaners'; and during Holy Week we too sing from booklets to avoid problems with different editions.