Frequently Asked Questions

How do I find songs, arias, and translations?

How do I find dissertations and theses?

How do I obtain music materials from other institutions?

Where can I find information on copyright law?

Does the library have recordings of Stanford Music Department concerts?

How can I track what's new in the Music Library's collections? What is an RSS feed, anyway?

How are materials arranged in the library?

Books and scores are arranged according to the Library of Congress Classification System. This system allows printed music to be arranged by type (instrumental or vocal) and by medium (e.g., violin and piano music, wind quintets, operas, sacred choral music). Likewise, books and periodicals on specific topics are shelved together.

View the full breakdown of the LC Classification for Music here. A print version is available at both the Circulation and Reference desks.

View a subject guide from the University of Tennessee Music Library here.

Explore a tutorial on music uniform titles from Indiana University here.

Search a list of popular music titles and their corresponding uniform titles here.

A print version of the M Classification scheme is shelved in the stacks, at: M1 .A1 A2.

Sound and video recordings are assigned accession numbers as titles are added to the collection. You may browse the shelves virtually in Socrates using the Call Number Browse feature:

Enter MCD 1 (etc.) for compact discs, or MDVD 1 for DVDs
(click here for full list of media call number prefixes and more on Socrates searching)
Library = Music
Shelving scheme = Sound Recordings(*very important!)

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How do I find songs, arias, and translations?

Before beginning your search, try to have:

• the title in the original language
• the composer’s name
• any identifying numbers (e.g. opus or catalog number)

and

• know if it is a part of a larger work, such as an opera, an oratorio, a song cycle, or a musical.

(This information may be found in the New Grove Dictionary in the Reference Room (Reference ML100 .G83 2001). The librarians are also happy to assist you.)

You may then choose one of these links for further instructions:

Socrates searching
Songs in single-composer collections
Songs in composer complete works
Songs in multiple-composer anthologies and collections
Translations

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How do I find dissertations and theses?

To view:

Stanford Music doctoral dissertations, D.M.A final projects, and other student-authored work can be found in Socrates under the author/composer’s name, and are shelved in the stacks:

These items may be borrowed by Stanford faculty and graduate students for a limited loan period (7 days).

Preservation copies of D.M.A. final projects and Doctoral dissertations are housed in the Stanford University Archives.

Non-Stanford dissertations owned by the Music Library can be found in Socrates with an author/title search. They are shelved in their appropriate subject areas.

To purchase:

UMI’s Dissertations and Theses service offers Stanford dissertations for sale (as well as those from other institutions). Please note that Stanford does not participate in Dissertation Express; you will need to pay for any dissertations that you order. Stanford University does not provide dissertations for direct sale.

UMI's ProQuest is a digital library of dissertations and theses submitted to UMI for publication. Stanford titles published since 1989 are available in PDF digital format and have 24 page previews available. Search in the "Interdiscplinary--Dissertations and Theses" database.

UMI’s Current Research@ initiative allows members of the Stanford community to download full-text Stanford digital dissertations (1996-) in pdf format.

Dissertations submitted by other American and Canadian universities can be searched in the UMI Dissertation Abstracts database (the same as the Digital Dissertations page) and copies may be purchased online by individual researchers.

A Socrates search for the title “Doctoral dissertations in music” will provide a list of print indexes to aid in searching for music dissertations.

To borrow:

Requests to borrow dissertations not owned by SULAIR may be submitted to the Interlibrary Services Office. Please use the online book request form. Keep in mind that individual institutions set their own policies for what types of materials may be borrowed.

Independent (non-Stanford) researchers, please note:

Stanford doctoral dissertations (post-1953) do not circulate via interlibrary loan services except to RLG ShaRes members or University of California libraries. Requests must originate from your home institution. See the Interlibrary Services Lending page for details.

Stanford doctoral dissertations in music (post-1953) may be purchased through UMI's Dissertations and Theses service. Stanford does not provide copies for direct sale. If you seek a dissertation not available through UMI you must first obtain written permission from the author to allow photoreproduction before any exception can be granted. Author contact information may be requested from the Stanford Alumni Association Customer Service site.

Foreign dissertations:

Dissertations produced in foreign countries may often be located in their respective national, regional, or cooperative library catalogs. See also:

Index to Theses: Theses accepted in Great Britain and Ireland since 1716-
Dissonline.de: German digital dissertations
Theses en ligne: French digital dissertations
Tesionline.it: Italian dissertations
DATAD: African dissertations and theses

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How do I obtain music materials from other institutions?

Materials not owned by the Stanford University Libraries may be borrowed from other institutions. See the Interlibrary Services Office page for complete instructions and links to online request forms. Please note:

You will need as much information as possible, including author name, title, and publication information. Often full information can be found by searching for the item in WorldCat (OCLC). Music librarians are happy to assist you with these searches.

Stanford has priority borrowing privileges with UC Berkeley. Through the RLCP program, Stanford faculty, academic and professional staff, and currently-registered graduate students can use their Stanford ID cards to borrow library materials when visiting the UC Berkeley Music Library and campus.

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Where can I find information on copyright law?

Follow these links:

SUL Copyright Page
United States Copyright Office
Music Library Association Copyright Page
Music Publishers Association Copyright Resources
University of Texas Copyright Crash Course

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Does the library have recordings of Stanford Music Department concerts?

Yes. The Music Library has recordings on compact disc from the current academic year and one year prior. They are arranged by date, so you must know the date of a concert in order to request the recording at the Circulation Desk.

Bound sets of concert programs and calendars are in the Reference Room at: REFERENCE MT4.7 .S7 S7 P9. You may request the binder of the current year’s programs at the Circulation Desk.

Can I get copies?

Yes, but not from the Library. The Music Department Office can make copies of most recorded concerts for a fee. Request forms are available outside the office entrance (Braun 101).

The Archive of Recorded Sound houses preservation copies of all recorded department concerts.

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How can I track what's new in the Music Library's collections? What is an RSS feed, anyway?

As an alternative to the frequently-updated list on the New Arrivals page, new books, scores and recordings can be tracked using RSS (Really Simple Syndication) and a commercial aggregator such as Bloglines.

How does it work?

Sign up (for free) with Bloglines, a web-based service that allows you to amass links to databases that post regular updates via an RSS "feed." View the updates at your leisure. The Stanford Libraries RSS feedlist generates lists of newly-cataloged titles each day. Once you have viewed a list it automatically disappears.

How do I start?

After establishing a Bloglines account, follow these steps:

1. Log in to your Bloglines account
2. Click on the tab called "My Feeds"
3. Select "Add"
4. Open another browser window and go to the Stanford Libraries RSS feedlist
5. Choose "New Items from Socrates--15 entries" or "New Items from Socrates--up to 500 entries from last 30 days"
6. Right-click on "Music" under Branch Libraries and select "Copy Shortcut" (in IE) or "Copy Link Location" (in Firefox/Netscape)
7. Go back to Bloglines and paste the link in the "Subscribe" box.

What next?

The Stanford Music Library "feed" will update daily (weekdays). Click on a title to view the Socrates record. "In process" items may be requested by clicking "request this item."
While the majority of titles cataloged each day are "new," you will notice in the Music Library feed some older titles as well. We continually process older uncataloged materials received as gifts or from prior acquisitions.

Gather headlines from all over!

You may add links to your Bloglines account to any site that provides an RSS feed. See, for example, Billboard Online, and note the "RSS" in the links at the very bottom of the page.

Consider these:

The Chronicle of Higher Education
Arts Journal.com (look for the "blog" section)
The Stanford Daily

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