Electronic Resources Update

Keeping pace with the rapid changes in the library's electronic resources requires more time than most people can readily devote to the task. So, it's often a surprise, sometimes even a pleasant one, to log into a favorite resource and discover that it looks and acts differently.

Below is a brief summary of changes which have recently taken place in some of the resources frequently used for music research as well information on two resources new to us.

• RIPM (Répertoire International de la Presse Musicale). Previously available only in paper, this index series provides access to significant 19th century music periodical literature from across Europe and the United States. At present over sixty titles are indexed including the Musical Times (England), Dwight's Journal (U.S.), Allgemeine Musikalische Zeitung (Germany) with more in preparation. You can access this resource via MadCat or the Music Library's Journal Indexes and Related Databases page.
• The Canadian Music Periodicals Index is a resource produced by the National Library of Canada. Currently, this index contains over 25,000 bibliographic entries drawn from 475 Canadian music journals dating from the late 19th century to the present. There is a link to this resource from the Music Library's Journal Indexes and Related Databases page.
• New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. The New Grove and New Grove Opera have merged into a single online resource call GroveMusic. Any query will now search across both resources. Links are available through MadCat, the Reference: Encyclopedias, Dictionaries and more pick on the Electronic Library, and soon from the Music Library's web site.
• International Index to Music Periodicals. IIMP has a nifty new email feature. Links are available from the Electronic Library and the Music Library's web site.
• Dissertation Abstracts. Renamed Proquest Digital Dissertations, this resource is now web-based and will search the entire database (back to 1851) with a single query, unlike the previous version. Links are available from the Electronic Library and the Music Library's web site.
• MadCat. A completely new interface was introduced over the summer. On the positive side, Boolean searches (the use of and, or, not) no longer require upper case characters. On the negative side, the summary display of search results is cluttered and difficult to read. Furthermore, the system still cannot sort search results so that all similar materials file together. Consequently, one must often ponder a lengthy list of entries to ferret out that specific musical performance one is trying to locate.

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