It is well-known that electronic resources in the arts and humanities, including music, trail far behind those available in the sciences. But lately, things are looking up. A handful of music journals are included among the full text databases Proquest and Academic Search. That is, the complete text of articles in selected music journals is now available online through the Electronic Library. At present, the number of journal titles is limited, but it’s a start. Generally, an article’s full text is provided only for those journals issued in the past few years. However, abstracts of articles are provided for issues when the full text is unavailable. None of the journals offer full text for their complete run of issues.
Below is a list of the music journals currently offering some full text coverage through Proquest (P) or Academic Search (A). To access them, search individual titles in the Web version of MadCatand then click on the link provided. Alternately, select "Indexes" from the Electronic Library, then go either to Proquest or Academic Search FullText.
Education Index/Abstracts and Full Text
Humanities Abstracts and Full Text
Readers' Guide Abstracts and Full Text
Speaking of Opera News, students and staff on the Madison campus have direct access to Opera News Online, the journal's own website. While several vendors offer partial access to Opera News, this is the only place where you will find the full text to all issues published since August 1991. The best access point for Opera News Online is through the Electronic Journals pick on the Music Library's web page.
Admittedly, there is no simple and direct way to access all electronic full text music journals, and it can be a bit confusing getting started. Although the road may be bumpy, the trip may still be worthwhile. By using these resources, you have the advantage of quickly searching a large body of literature and having the full text of an article immediately available to you. You may also encounter useful articles in non-music journals, and of course you have access to any of these resources at your convenience, even outside of the library.