Music literature databases on trial – test drive during summer

Trial access to  RILM Retro, RIPM Archive, RIPM eLibrary. All trials end 13 January 2014.

RILM Retrospective Abstracts of Music Literature is a bibliography of music articles, collections, and books published before 1967. Comprehensive coverage includes music-related articles published in conference proceedings from 1835 through 1966; articles in Festschriften celebrating music scholars from 1840 to 1966; and articles in anniversary volumes published in honor of musicians, composers and institutions dating back to the 18th century. (RILM Retrospective Abstracts of Music Literature matches the scope and format of RILM Abstracts of Music Literature, but its coverage specifically focuses on all document types published before 1967.)

RIPM Online Archive of Music Periodicals is a full-text version of selected journals indexed in RIPM Retrospective Index to Music Periodicals. It is a unique collection of primary source material and periodicals for the study of music and musical life from approximately 1800 to 1950. It is also the only extensive collection available online for music periodicals dating from the Early Romantic to the Modern period, from Beethoven to Bartók and from Schubert to Stravinsky. The full-text articles are seamlessly linked to the RIPM Retrospective Index to Music Periodicals, and new content is added every 6 months. A list of the titles included in ROA is available here.

RIPM eLibrary of Music Periodicals is a full-text collection of rare music journals. With extensive coverage of journals in 15 languages it offers searchable primary source material not available in any other online resource. The e-Library collection includes journals of focus and scope not treated in the RIPM Retrospective Index or RIPM Online Archive, including those focusing on specialized topics such as instruments, music education, musicology’s early periodicals, and jazz, with others combining both musical and non-musical content, such as theatrical journals. The Collection contains several monumental journals including Musical America until 1922, Le Guide musical (1855-1919), the Neue Berliner Musikzeitung (1847-1896) and early musicology periodicals. A list of the titles included in the eLibrary is available here.

The databases are accessible through the links above, and the Library Catalogue, and from the E-Resources@the University of Melbourne blog where you can also leave comments about the databases.