University of Melbourne Library Louise Hanson-Dyer Music Library

 

 

 

Finding books in Ethnomusicology

Browsing | Google Options | Online Collections | Using Catalogues | Research Collections |
Subject bibliographies | Guides to ethnomusicology research
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. Try some of the links below to display the call no. searches using the library catalogue.

    305-306... Social Groups, Culture and Institutions
    780.1 Music - Philosophical aspects
    780.89 Ethnomusicology, World Music
    780.941 to 780.99 Music - arranged by geographical areas
    780.941 Music of British Isles
    780.942 Music of England and Wales
    780.943 Music of Germany and Central Europe
    780.944 Music of France and Monaco
    780.945 Music of Italian Peninsula and adjacent islands
    780.946 Music of Spain
    780.947 Music of Russia and Soviet Union
    780.948 Music of Scandinavia
    780.949 Music of other parts of Europe : Holland, Croatia, Rumania, etc.
    780.95 Music of Asia, Orient, Far East
    780.951 Music of China and adjacent areas, Korea, etc.
    780.952 Music of Japan
    780.953 Music of Arabian Peninsula and adjacent areas
    780.954 Music of India and South Asia
    780.955 Music of Iran / Persia
    780.956 Music of Middle East, Turkey, Israel, etc.
    780.957 Music of Siberia, Asiatic Russia
    780.958 Music of Central Asia
    780.959 Music of Southeast Asia
    781.1 Music - Psychological aspects

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.


top of page

 

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, check for local holdings in :


Google Scholar Search @ unimelb - Learn Google 201
Google Scholar searches books, journals and other materials from academic publishers, professional societies and pre-print archives.
Set Scholar Preferences to display Source It symbol links to University of Melbourne holdings and subscriptions.
- From welcome screen, choose Scholar Preferences
- Library Links enter MELBOURNE in Find library box.
- Check box - SourceIt @ Melbourne
- Click Save Preferences

top of page

 

Online Book Collections : a selection

The Internet Archive - texts, audio, movies, images, etc.
"The Internet Archive, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, is building a digital library of Internet sites and other cultural artifacts in digital form. Like a paper library, we provide free access to researchers, historians, scholars, and the general public.". About the Internet Archive.

top of page

 

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 and try Smart Searching guides to learn better searching techniques.

Search the library catalogue by title, author, keywords, subject, or the other indexes available.

  1. 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:

  2. Searching by Author 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.

  3. 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.
  • Libraries Australia Search Service - 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.

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.

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.

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.

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).

Sweden
  • LIBRIS WebSearch
    Search the holdings of approximately 300 Swedish research libraries, consisting of 5,5 million titles.

top of page

 

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.

Another important collection is:


top of page

 

Guides to ethnomusicology research

If you have a question about locating the information you need, contact us for expert assistance.

top of page