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Library Instruction for Music
Majors
Prepared by Sarah Brick Archer
Assistant Professor of Library Services
Resource Coordinator for the Departments of Fine Arts, Languages
& Literature, and Communication & Art
Office: L308B, Ext. #3267
Home Page
Location of Resources
Classification system: The John Vaughan Library uses the Library of Congress
Classification system in which the “M’s” represent music.
“M3" is used for collected works of individual composers; “M6-1490" is
instrumental music; “M1497-1500" is for vocal music; “ML” is for
literature about music; and “MT” is for music instruction and
study. This classification system is used throughout the library.
First
Floor: Reserve has
the CDs, DVDs, and faculty materials.
Reference contains music
encyclopedias,
dictionaries, Internet access, etc.
Circulation has materials
available
through interlibrary loan.
Second Floor: The
Curriculum Materials has Music Education textbooks.
The
Periodical collection contains
print Music journals.
Third
Floor: Contains the
circulating
scores, music history, biographies, criticisms, and music education
methods books.
For questions on locating or using the library, inquire at the
Reference Desk located in the center section of the first floor of the
library. Victoria Sheffler
(room Library 156, x3220) University
Archivist and Resource Coordinator for Music, is the resource
coordinator assigned specifically to the Music Department. Sarah
Brick
Archer also assists with the Music resources.
Cycle of Information
The cycle of information is an interesting one.
Research
starts
with an idea. Someone becomes curious about something and wants
to
explore it. Literature reviews are conducted, empirical evidence
is
gathered. The researcher may wish to cross disciplinary lines and
for example take a learning theory and apply it to Music. The
researcher
writes an article. If the article adds to the body of knowledge
or
presents a new concept, a journal in that discipline might be
interested
in publishing it. Article submissions go through a reviewing process in
which multiple reviewers will read and comment on the article.
This
is an example of a refereed journal article. If it passes the review
process,
the article is published in the journal. Indexers read journal
articles
and assign subject headings to the articles and place the citation in
indexes
(such as Music Index). Researchers comb indexes to
find
articles, and the whole cycle starts over. This is a cycle that
occurs
right here at NSU. Our faculty and students are publishing.
The Flow
of
Information (from the UCLA College Library and NWACC) depicts how
information about an
event can be represented in different types of resources. Understanding
how
information is disseminated helps to know where to look and the
attributes of each format.
Overview to Research in Music
A good book for an overview to research in the field of music is Music Reference and Research Material: An
Annotated Bibliography (Ref. ML 113.D83 1997)
Another good book is Sourcebook for
Research in Music (Ref. ML 113.C68 2005).
A good
approach when starting research in Music is to search Grove's first. It is encyclopedic
in nature and provides an overview to composers, instruments, and music
history. The
bibliographies and discographies at the end of the article provide
clues for finding additional information.
Biographical Sources:
After searching Grove's (do a Biographies search under
"Advanced Search"), additional biographical
information can be found by searching the composer or musician by subject (last name first) in the Library Catalog. Articles
can be found by using the Music
Index. With
the Music Index, search
composers using inverted order and quotation marks (example:
"copland, aaron").
Well
known publishers in music include Shirmer,
Grove, Dover, Belwin Mills Kalmus, and Hal Leonard. Useful
series include the Oxford Composer
Companions and Women
Composers: Music Through the Ages.
Music History:
Two useful series are the New
Oxford History of Music and the Oxford History of Western Music.
Locating Scores and CDs:
Besides biographical information about the composer, it is beneficial
to examine scores and listen to CDs to gain insight to a composer. To
locate scores, use the Library
Catalog to do
a combination search and list the composer as the author and change the
format to score. To locate a CD by a specific composer, search the Library Catalog by
doing
an advanced search and searching by the composer's last name. Limit the
search
by selecting "Material Type" and choosing "Sound record." This
will
provide a list of records and CDs that contain the composer's
works. There is a series of books on Mozart (Getting the Most Out of Mozart)
that include CDs with the books.
The Research
Strategies CLIP tutorial can provide a general overview to getting
started
in researching a topic.
General Database Concepts
When approaching a database, look for help screens for complete
information on how to search it effectively. Check for scope
notes that identify the contents of the database. Check for
advanced search screens and identify different ways that the search can
be
limited. For instance, what dates and types of materials are
included in the database? Can it be searched by full text and subject?
Can
the search be limited by date, language or full text? Each database
uses controlled subject headings that can be accessed through the
online Thesaurus.
Grove's
Grove's is the online version of Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians
which is the standard encyclopedia for the Music field.
Periodical Sources
To locate Music journals, do a subject search on the Library Catalog
(examples of subject headings include the following: Music--Periodicals.
or Opera--Periodicals.)
General indexes for Music: (* indicates the
most effective choice)
Academic
Search Premier
Humanities
Fulltext
*Music
Index (not a full text database)
Music Education:
Education
Full Text
ERIC
Professional
Development Collection
Internet Resources
Of course, there are many resources available through the Web. The
librarian for the department has created the Music
page which lists some useful Web sites. The Oklahoma Department
of Education has the PASS skills for Music(Third
Grade and High
School) available. The library provides a
list of search
engines.
(Try
the library's Google
CLIP tutorial.) Search the following Web pages for interesting
resources:
The
Internet Public Library and Librarians'
Index to the Internet.
Evaluating Sources
With all resources, it is important to assess the quality of what you
find. Use the following checklist to assist with that
determination:
1. Identify the author(s) and determine his/her credentials.
Does the author have a degree in the field; is the author a
professor;
does the author have other works published on similar topics?
2. What is the date of the publication? Currency is important in
most fields. It is especially important for Web pages.
3. Does the publisher have a good reputation? Is the resource
published by a professional association or university press? Is
the journal
refereed? For Web sites, check the URL to determine the sponsor.
Gov
sites are government sites; com are commercial; edu are educational.
4. How do the critics perceive the work? Are there reviews
available?
5. Is the material complete? Does it have an index, bibliography.
Is it well written with few grammatical or spelling errors?
6. Is the language slanted or biased?
7. Does it include references to well known facts or research studies?
8. For Web pages, do the links work?
Citing Sources
To avoid plagiarism, it is important to cite materials correctly.
Indiana University has a good guide on plagiarism.
Words and Music,
the style manual for Music majors is located on the first floor behind
the Reference Desk (Ready Ref ML3797.H49 1982).
Interlibrary Loan
Materials that are not available at the Northeastern State University
may be acquired through Interlibrary
Loan. This is a free service that is provided online.
Allow several weeks for an Interlibrary Loan to arrive. Hard copy
loans are available for pick-up at the Circulation Desk on first floor.
Professional Associations
American String Teachers
Association
http://www.astaweb.com/
ASCAP (American
Society for Composers, Authors, and Publishers)
http://www.ascap.com/index.html
Conductor's Guild
http://www.conductorsguild.org/
College Music Society
http://www.music.org/
International Society for Music
Education
htttp://www.isme.org/
K-12
Resources for Music Educators
http://www.isd77.k12.mn.us/music/k-12music/
MENC (Music Educators National
Conference)
http://www.menc.org/
Music Teachers National Association
http://www.mtna.org/
National Association of
Teachers of Singing
(NATS)
http://www.nats.org/
Oklahoma Music Teachers
Association
http://www.okmta.org/
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