Welcome to MusRef, a site devoted to music and dance bibliography and reference. The site consists of four main features:
- An online bibliography of music and dance bibliographies and reference sources (both print and online).
- A blog offering notices of music and dance bibliography and reference sources.
- Basic introductions to reference tools intended to help students understand how reference sources can guide them to appropriate research materials.
- The MusRef Bibliographie series. These annotated bibliographies
We welcome your comments and suggestions. We also invited interested music and dance bibliographers, librarians, and researchers to contribute to the development of the site. Unfortunately, our blog cannot accept direct comments. Please email communications to the site manager, David Day at david_day@byu.edu.
The Online Bibliography
At present the bibliography includes more than 13,000 bibliographies and reference sources (both print and online), approximately 2,200 of which are annotated with critiques on use, coverage, organization, and pros and cons (click here for guidelines on writing critiques). Many entries also list published reviews for the corresponding sources. The bibliography is growing actively with new sources and critiques added on a regular basis. The coverage of the bibliography was initially based on the music and dance reference collection at Brigham Young University, but many additional citations gathered from WorldCat and earlier bibliographies are entered on a regular basis. We have not copied or borrowed annotations or descriptions beyond basic bibliographic data from other sources.
The types of sources found in the bibliography include the following:
- Anthology
- Bibliographic Style Guide
- Composer Handbook
- Composer Thematic Catalogue-Bibliography
- Composer Website
- Dance Anthology
- Dance Collection Catalogue
- Dance History
- Dance Index
- Dance Notation
- Dance Research Bibliography
- Dictionary Musical Terminology
- Directory
- Discography
- Electronic Journal
- Encyclopedia-Dictionary
- Exhibition Catalogue
- Filmography
- History of Music Publishing
- Instrument Collection Catalogue
- Instrument Manufacturer Catalogue
- Internet Portal
- Libretti Catalogue
- Lyrics-Texts-Translations
- Music Chronology
- Music Collection Catalogue
- Music Collection Online
- Music History
- Music Industry
- Music Librarianship
- Music Research Bibliography
- Music Scores Index-Catalogue
- Musical Settings Guide
- Performer Bibliography
- Performer Website
- Periodical Index
- Repertory Guide
- Synopses and Analyses
The content of entries includes basic data from the MARC records (information found in library catalogues). The data from the original MARC records has been modified somewhat to provide uniformity throughout the database. For example, state’s abbreviations, author’s and publisher’s names, and statements of editions have been adapted from the original records for a more uniform presentation.
We are attempting to provide direct links to items in the bibliography that are available online. At this point in time we have provided links to online scans of print reference books in the public domain. These include books that were scanned as part of the Internet Archive and Google Books. We also provide links to articles and reviews found in JSTOR. Access to JSTOR resources requires authentication through an institutional license.
The MusRef BLOG
The blog will be used as tool to inform interested colleagues in all aspects of music and dance bibliography and reference. We will post reports of progress on the Database, the MusRef Bibliographies series, and other relevent activities. Other threads of commentary will relate to online resources, new publications, and solutions to reference questions.
MusRef Bibliographies
This component of the site will be devoted to highlighting independent research and works in progress. Initially it will feature outstanding bibliographies produced by students in the graduate research methodologies class at Brigham Young University. It is certainly not meant to be an exclusive club. We welcome submissions from other institutions and independent scholars. Send submissions to David Day at david_day@byu.edu.