Finding books on Music
Browsing | Google Options | Using Catalogues | Research Collections | Subject bibliographies | Guides to music research | Book Review Sources
Browsing library collections - important call numbers
Browsing through the collection is highly recommended as scanning the contents pages and book indexes offer more detailed indexing than library catalogues. Knowing the shelf arrangement makes it easy to find the best place to browse the shelves.
Even from home, you can use the library catalogue to virtually browse the book shelves. Use the Call no. search option. For example, try a call number search using 780.9033 - Music History : ca.1750-1825.
There are two sequences of Dewey numbers in the Music Library, the general and folio sequence for taller books. Use the above numbers to browse both sequences.
Google Options
- Google Advanced Book Search - Using Google Book Search
Search the full text of books to discover those that are most useful to you. From your results, you'll be able to see everything from a few short excerpts to the entire book. Click on a book title and you'll see the Snippet View. You may also see the Sample Pages View if the publisher or author has given permission or the Full Book View if the book is out of copyright. Alternatively,
- use the Borrow this book "Find this book in a library" link.
- Choose "Get this item" to display a list of Australian libraries where the book can be borrowed, or,
- use the University Library catalogue for local holdings.
"Each book includes basic bibliographic data like title, author, publication date, length and subject. For some books you may also see additional information like key terms and phrases, references to the book from scholarly publications or other books, chapter titles and a list of related books."
- Google Scholar Search @ unimelb - Learn Google 201
Google Scholar searches books, journals and other materials from academic publishers, professional societies and pre-print archives. This configuration will access SourceIt @ Melbourne links to University of Melbourne holdings and subscriptions.
Using Catalogues
Catalogues of large, historical, music collections are invaluable for finding materials for comprehensive research. Read through some Catalogue searching tips to improve your searching skills. Try Smart Searching guides to learn better searching techniques.
University of Melbourne Library Collections including Victorian College of the Arts Collections.
Search the library
catalogue by title, author, keywords, subject, or the other
indexes available.
- Searching
by Keyword.
If you are new to a topic, start with a keyword search to find some initial resources. Search using any distinctive words that describe the information that you seek. This may include a composer name, a type of music, or even the name of a country or state. For example:
- mbuti
- Zaire and music
- Beethoven and Sonatas and Analysis
- Brahms and Songs and Analysis
- Mozart and piano and concertos and analysis
- Searching
by Author and/or Searching
by Title.
If you know the name of an author or the title of the work, then search by Author or by Title. Once you have some books in hand, these resources will often provide bibliographies -- lists of books and articles that will allow you to discover what else is available on a subject. Another strategy is to use the call numbers of given works from your course lists to find other works on similar topics by doing a search by Call Number.
- Searching
by subject
A very precise way of searching as you must search using Library of Congress Subject Headings - these are controlled words that have been assigned to describe the subject and may not be the same as your keywords. It may be useful to do a keyword search first, then check the Subject field in records retrieved to see the subject headings used in the catalogue.
Research Collections
Australian Collections
- Australian
Music Centre - Online Public Access Catalogue
Search the catalogue of a unique collection of the works, recordings, books, videos and articles on Australian composers.
- Australian National Library : General Catalogues - Music Catalogue
- Libraries
Australia - Australian National Bibliographic database
Search more than 40 million items held in over 800 Australian libraries. You can search for any item and locate which library in Australia holds it. Search for books, journals, newspapers, theses, pictures, music, manuscripts, maps and more. Many online resources such as digitised images and full text publications can also be accessed immediately online. A Searching for Music in Libraries Australia guide is available.
- Australian libraries gateway - use the to locate websites and online catalogues of other Australian libraries.
International collections
- National
Libraries Catalogues Worldwide, from University of Queensland.
"National libraries are responsible for collecting all publications issued in their respective countries. For this reason, the catalogue of a national library is the best guide to publications issued in the country in question, and anyone wanting information on the publications of that country should make the catalogue of the national library the starting point of their search."
- The European Library -
searches the content of European national libraries.
Allows searching limited by format - newspapers, maps, music collections, photographs, theses, etc. Also limit by specific country, or browse collections by subject, or by description, e.g. sound, software, etc.
- WorldCAT - a catalogue to the holdings of a large library network.
Books and other materials in libraries worldwide, but especially at U.S. academic institutions.
- Music
Catalogues via the internet.
Other useful lists of music catalogues via the internet - local, national and international collections.
- Web gateway to libraries worldwide takes you to further websites and online catalogues of individual institutions.
Britain
- British Library Integrated
Catalogue
One of the most comprehensive collections of Western Art music, the catalogue identifies printed books on music, including periodicals, libretti and printed music in both the Hirsch and Royal Music Libraries as well as collections of popular vocal and instrumental music, concert programmes, etc.
- COPAC - Academic and National Library Catalogue
A union catalogue which provides access to the merged online catalogues of the largest university research libraries in the UK and Ireland PLUS the British Library & the National Libraries of Scotland and Wales.
- Music Libraries
Online
An interface for searching key music collections within the UK.
United States
- Library of Congress Online
Catalog - also access to SONIC (Sound Online Inventory
& Catalog)
Another outstanding collection including music, books on music, sound recordings, etc. (from 1960- present). Be aware that "older materials in the general collections cataloged before 1980 may ... not be represented in the Online Catalog. Onsite researchers should use the Main Card Catalog. Some examples of collection materials not comprehensively available in the Online Catalog include: 78 rpm sound recordings, prints and photographs, films and videos, maps, libretti, sheet music, .... "
- CATNYP : Catalog of the
New York Public Library
Includes the catalogue of The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts for materials cataloged since 1971. Earlier material can be found in the published catalog volumes at: UniM Music REF 016.78 NEW Dictionary Catalog of the Music Collection (1964) 33 vols., plus suppl. (1973) 10 vols. This print catalogue lists books, music, and indexes PERIODICAL ARTICLES up until 1973.
- Music Libraries and Library Associations, an extensive list of US and international libraries, compiled by William and Gayle Cook Music Library, Indiana University School of Music.
Italy
- Italian Digital Library Portal and Cultural-Tourist Network
"An integrated access system to the digital and traditional resources of libraries, archives, and other Italian cultural institutions, in order to promote and enhance the knowledge and availability of the cultural heritage to a national and international level. The Portal offers didactic, professional and institutional information concerning the Italian cultural heritage and related activities. The Portal presents both the general and the specialized user with the opportunity to search bibliographical information and digital contents coming from different information sources.The version online offers, at present, a first nucleus of information and services. Future releases will be focused on new contents and tools."
France
- Union
Catalog of France (Catalogue
collectif de France/CCFr)
A powerful online bibliographic and document research tool making it possible to locate more than 15 million documents available in the French library system. The CCFr provides a single search interface for the three major French catalogs:- the Catalog of Digitized Municipal Library Collections (Catalogue des Fonds des Bibliothèques Municipales Rétroconvertis/BMR);
- BN-Opale Plus;
- and the University Documentation Catalog (Catalogue du Système Universitaire de Documentation/Sudoc).
- La Bibliothèque nationale de France and Bn-Opale PLUS (Online Catalog)
- IRCAM
Multimedia Library, Centre Pompidou.
Includes catalogue, contemporary composer files, articles, online sound recordings, internet links, etc.
Sweden
- LIBRIS WebSearch
Search the holdings of approximately 300 Swedish research libraries, consisting of 5,5 million titles.
Subject Bibliographies
Book lists, compiled by experts, are invaluable publications, outlining the lists of writings on a topic, period, composer, etc. Often includes critical annotations for each entry and includes books, articles, conferences, dissertations, etc. A must for the start of any literature review or comprehensive research topic. Many are located in our Reference Collection and some examples include :
- the Detroit studies in music bibliography series,
- the Bio-bibliograpies in music series,
- the Garland Composer Resource Manuals series,
- the Composer Resource Manuals series, also known as Garland Composer Resource Manuals
- the Routledge Music Bibliographies series,
- the Music Research and Information Guides series, etc.
Guides to music research and the music literature
- Brockman, W.S. UniM Music REF 016.78 BROC
Music : a guide to the reference literature.
Littleton, Colo. : Libraries Unlimited, 1987. (Reference sources in the humanities series)
- Crabtree, Phillip. UniM Music REF 016.78 CRAB
Sourcebook for research in music / Phillip D. Crabtree and Donald H. Foster.
Bloomington : Indiana University Press, c1993.
- Druesedow, John E.UniM Music REF 780.01 DRUE
Library research guide to music : illustrated search strategy and sources.
Ann Arbor, Mich. : Pierian Press, c1982. (Library research guides series; no. 6)
Includes: "Basic reference sources for courses in music": p. 71-82.
- Duckles, Vincent H. (Vincent Harris), UniM Music REF 016.78
DUCK
Music Reference and Research Materials : an annotated bibliography. 5th ed. / Vincent H. Duckles, Ida Reed ; Michael A. Keller, advisory editor ; indexed by Linda Solow Blotner.
New York : Schirmer Books, c1997.
Electronic Resources in Duckles 5 - Citations from Chapter 12, compiled by Brad Short, from Duckles/Reed, 5th ed.
- Foreman, Lewis (ed.) UniM Music REF 016.78 INFO
Information sources in music.
München : Saur, 2003. (Guides to information sources)
- Mixter, Keith E. (Keith Eugene), 1922-. UniM Music REF 016.78
DETR v.75
General Bibliography for Music Research. 3rd ed.
[Warren,] Mich. : Harmonie Park Press, 1996. (Detroit studies in music bibliography; no. 75)
- Pruett, James W.UniM Music REF 780.01 PRUE
Research guide to musicology / James W. Pruett and Thomas P. Slavens.
Chicago : American Library Association, 1985. (Sources of information in the humanities ; no. 4)
- Whalon, Marion K. UniM Music REF 016.7902 WHAL
Performing arts research : a guide to information sources.
Detroit : Gale Research Co., c1976. (Performing arts information guide series; v. 1)
- Watanabe, Ruth T. (Ruth Taiko) UniM Music REF 780.01 WATA
Introduction to music research .
Englewood Cliffs, N.J., Prentice-Hall, c1967. (Prentice Hall history of music series)
Book Review Sources
- Amazon.Com - find useful reviews, both by professionals and amateurs.
- Booklist - reviews by librarians.
If you have a question about locating the information you need, contact us for expert assistance.