Music in Libraries:
Just the Basics
Music Reference
Preconference Workshop
SEMLA Annual Meeting
Greenville, North Carolina
October 9, 2008
Presented by
Chris Durman Grover Baker
Music Librarian Librarian/Coordinator of Research Collections
George Devine Music Library The Center for Popular Music
University of Tennessee Middle Tennessee State University
Learning Outcomes
• Name the questions to ask in a music reference interview.
• Identify the most common formats for music materials.
• Recognize the difficulties in finding songs and
instrumental music, and how to overcome them.
• Describe components that are used in a CLASSICAL
MUSIC title.
• Name free internet sites (and paid electronic resources like
WorldCat) to use in answering music reference questions .
• List basic music reference materials their library may want
to purchase.
The Reference Interview
• What does the patron really want?
• recording?
• printed music?
• video?
• lyrics?
• other information?
Formats
• Audio:
• compact discs
• records (LPs, 45s, 78s, etc.)
• digital (MP3, wav, wma, aif)
• tapes (cassettes, reel to reel, 8 track)
• Video:
• DVD
• VHS
Formats
• Print:
• full score (conductor’s score)
• miniature score (study score)
• vocal score (piano/vocal score)
• score and parts
• piano reduction
• choral score
Formats
• Print:
• sheet music
• fakebook (real book, lead sheet, chart)
• tablature
• facsimile
• libretto
The Reference Interview
• Your turn!
Role play
Searching the Library Catalog
• Challenges and solutions
• uniform titles
Many music libraries have guides on uniform titles:
College of St. Catherine - http://library.stkate.edu/guides/music_ut.html
Indiana University - http://library.music.indiana.edu/collections/uniform/uniform.html
University of Washington - http://www.lib.washington.edu/music/uniftitl.html
• subject headings
• content notes
• limiters
• wildcards and truncation
Searching the Library Catalog
• Your turn!
Try this at home!
Reference Tools
• dictionaries and encyclopedias
• thematic catalogs
• guides to research
• discographies
• song indexes
• music databases
• directories
Don’t Forget These
• liner notes
• biographies
• general encyclopedias
• non-music databases
Reference Tools
• A few free online resources (see
handouts for more)
• allmusic.com
• Sheet Music Consortium
• Performing Arts Encyclopedia
• Worldcat.org
• UT Song Index
Music in Libraries:
Just the Basics
Thank You!
Special thanks to Jeanette Casey
and the MLA Educational
Outreach Program for their
help preparing this workshop