In this part of SAFARI we are going to cover information resources for music. As with any subject it is difficult to describe every resource that may be of use. It will depend on what aspect of music you are interested in.
Information about resources available to Open University students and links to them are found on the Open Library website, by going to Online collections by subject and selecting Music from the drop-down list. There are further sub-categories to choose from, or for a general list, choose the sub-category 'Music'.
Specific resources are discussed in more detail below.
A growing collection of music books is available online via the Open Library website. A good starting point is the Online collections by subject page on Open Library. Select Music then for the sub-category select Music also, and put a tick next to 'all' to see the full range of resources, including ebooks.
From this page you can access key online reference books (for example, dictionaries and encyclopaedias) such as:
You can also look at original editions of musical works by searching Early English Books Online (EEBO), an online collection of more than 125,000 early printed books from 1470-1700. It contains facsmile versions of many early English ballads and carols.
You will find some music reference books in the Reference section of the Open Library web pages, contained within general works:
Oxford Reference Online provides access to:
Credo Reference provides access to:
Another general source is KnowUK, which allows you to search across many reference books, including:
To find out about other books available in your subject area, you can search library catalogues and/or online bookshops. These are listed on the Open Library page Other library catalogues.
Databases are useful for finding articles on a topic. They enable you to search across a number of journal titles (and sometimes books, reports and newspapers simultaneously) in order to find information in your area of study. There are two main types of databases:
Some databases may contain a mixture of both full text and bibliographic information. A number of databases make sound recordings available. Your starting point when using library databases should be the Online collections by subject section of Open Library. Databases of particular interest to you include:
An increasing number of journals are available electronically through Open Library. We have selected some for Music, which you can view by going to the Online collections by subject page, selecting Music and the relevant sub-category, and putting a tick in the ejournals box. This list is only a selection. You are strongly advised to use the A-Z list of journals search facility to browse for other titles.
You can also search several journal titles at once, by subject keyword, using the electronic journal collections further down the same page as the A-Z ejournals search.
Especially if you are studying early music, you may wish to use primary sources. These include sheet music, scores, archival records, manuscripts, personal diaries and letters.
There are many sites on the internet where you will find useful information, and these are often linked from module websites as appropriate.
You may also find useful Music websites on the Online collections by subject page, including:
To find out about other people's research, the Open Library Theses and dissertations page can help. To trace theses you can use:
The full text of some Open University PhD dissertations is available via DART and can be searched from the Theses and dissertations page. Open Research Online enables you to access published papers and books by OU researchers.
This is covered in more detail in Section 7.
SAFARI concentrates on resources that are available to Open University students through the Open Library web pages. However, these may not be the only resources available to you. When you need to use a library, you can find out about university libraries located near you by using our Access to Libraries Database. A useful arrangement for OU students is the SCONUL Access scheme, through which part-time students can borrow books free of charge from a university library in their area. All Open University students are also entitled to apply for a pass, lasting up to five years, to use the British Library's St. Pancras reading rooms. To receive your pass you need to present documentary proof of the module you are currently studying, and some form of personal ID. Details of SCONUL Access and British Library membership are on the Other libraries page.
Before visiting a library, you may want to check its catalogue to make sure it holds the books and journals you need. You can find links to Other library catalogues on Open Library.
There may be other library resources near to you. Does your workplace have a library or information service you can use? Do you belong to a professional organisation or learned society? Many of these have specialist library and information services for their members and they often offer student membership rates.