Floorplan: Stauffer 2nd floor
Items are arranged according to the LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CLASSIFICATION scheme: Class M for Music and Books on music.
Generally, items are shelved alphabetically in author order within each subject class number. Class M (MUSIC) consists of 3 main sections:
All music scores are accessible through Omni searching by Author (i.e. composer), Title, Subject or Boolean.
Boolean searches are most useful to allow combination of terms (see under Uniform Titles) and avoid retrieving sound recordings. Examples:
Request a mobile music cart at the Stauffer Reserve Desk and book a Music Listening Room when using audiovisual materials. There are two music carts, each containing a Philips DVD/VCR, Sony turntable, Dell laptop, Behringer mini amp and 4 sets of headphones.
DVDs, VHS and music CDs are found in the Multimedia Collection on the lower level of Stauffer.
Compact discs circulate for one week. The shelf numbers reflect the date of accession to the collection. e.g. SRCD04-1156 means the 1156th Sound Recording Compact Disc acquired in 2004.
DVDs circulate for 3 days.
LP recordings (33 1/3 rpm) in Music-Storage can be requested at the Circulation Desk for 3-hour in-library use only. Album covers and booklet inserts are a valuable source of historical, analytical and performer information.
Search sound recordings in Omni using Boolean to combine any elements (composer, title, genre, opus or thematic catalogue number, instrumentation, etc.) and add the bracketed terms (disc or sound) or the quoted phrase "compact disc" to your search terms to retrieve only recordings:
(NOTE: Use * to truncate a word to retrieve different possible word endings, such as singular or plural. Use quotation marks around two or more words to search them as a phrase.)
The shelf numbers reflect the date of accession to the collection. e.g. SRCD04-1156 means the 1156th Sound Recording Compact Disc acquired in 2004. Ask for LP numbers (e.g. SR11-047) in Music-Storage to be retrieved at the Circulation Desk.
Classical Scores Library (15th-21st century)
Instrument/Voice Performer Guides are useful for browsing available scores for specific instruments or voice by classification number in the library.
Search a song title by Boolean in Omni Omni using quotation marks: - e.g. "il pleure dans mon coeur".
Use the Song Index to help locate songs from published collections/anthologies housed in the music collection stacks. If title access does not yield the song (since the search string is followed literally), try searching only by the composer's last name.
Uniform Titles are often assigned to music scores because a musical work may be published in multiple editions with varying versions of the title (i.e. variable order of form, medium, key, opus numbering, use of programmatic titles such as Beethoven's Sonata Pathetique for Sonata op. 13, no. 8, as well as titles in different languages).
In the case of works with generic titles, form, instrumentation, numbering and key qualifiers are added in a prescribed order to identify the piece.
In the case of works with distinctive titles, the uniform title is based on the original language of the publication.
In the case of arrangements, transcriptions, or reductions, "arr." is appended to the uniform title to indicate that the score is not the original version.