Music at the BPL: Online Resources

A guide to the Music Department at the Boston Public Library's Central Library in Copley Square, including resources and suggestions for searching our collections.

Oxford Music Online

Want to search all the Oxford Music Online collections simultaneously? You can, just follow the link below!

Oxford Music Online This link opens in a new window
Includes searchable full text of The Oxford Dictionary of Music, The Oxford Companion to Music, and Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Also includes the full text of the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2nd edition and the New Grove Dictionary of Opera.

Types of Books about Music

Descriptive Catalog: bibliography of composers work

Thematic Catalog: provides notation for the beginning or segments of each work, or movement; usually organized in chronological or classified order

Discographies: list of recordings either of a composer, artist, orchestra, or instrument combination

Bibliographies: can be in book form or footnotes, citations, and bibliographies from other sources

Introduction to Online Resources

Knowing where to start your search can be tricky. The following resources can provide background information on a wide range of musical topics.

Unless noted below, most of these collections are accessible anywhere with a valid BPL library card.

Online Resources

Garland Encyclopedia of World Music Online This link opens in a new window
The first comprehensive online resource devoted to music research of all the world's peoples. More than 9,000 pages of material, combined with entries by more than 700 expert contributors from all over the world, make this the most complete body of work focused on world music.
Grove Music Online This link opens in a new window
Via Oxford Music Online. Includes searchable full text of The Oxford Dictionary of Music, The Oxford Companion to Music, and Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Also includes the full text of the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2nd edition and the New Grove Dictionary of Opera.
Oxford Dictionary of Music (via Oxford Music Online) This link opens in a new window
Includes searchable full text of The Oxford Dictionary of Music, The Oxford Companion to Music, and Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Also includes the full text of the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2nd edition and the New Grove Dictionary of Opera.

Please note that Music Index and RIPM are available for in library use only.

JSTOR This link opens in a new window
Full-text access to over 850 core scholarly journals covering 44 specialized subject areas. Complete back runs of many titles are available. Coverage: spread out over the last 150 years but no current coverage for last 3-5 years.
Music Index This link opens in a new window
A subject-author guide to music periodical literature compiled from over 775 international music periodicals from over 40 countries. Offers historiographic, ethnographic, and musicological data. In addition, book reviews, reviews of music recordings, tapes, and performances are indexed. First performances and obituaries are also noted. Coverage: 1975-present (with some backfile data from 1962-1975)
OmniFile Full Text Select This link opens in a new window
OmniFile Full Text, Select Edition provides one-stop searching of full-text articles in areas that cross disciplines -- ethnic studies, women’s studies, history, and more.
RIPM: Retrospective Index to Music Periodicals This link opens in a new window
Access to nineteenth-century periodicals of international significance from 15 countries. Find contemporary writings about composers, performers, and compositions. Coverage: 19th century music and musical life.
RISM International Inventory of Musical Sources This link opens in a new window
RISM International Inventory of Musical Sources after 1600 is an annotated index and guide to music manuscripts produced after 1600, containing more than 564,000 records by over 19,500 composers into one database which can be easily searched. The manuscripts are found in over 740 libraries and archives in 31 countries. Coverage: after 1600 (mainly 1600-1850)

Chronicling America This link opens in a new window
Chronicling America is a Website providing access to information about historic newspapers and select digitized newspaper pages, and is produced by the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP). NDNP, a partnership between the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the Library of Congress (LC), is a long-term effort to develop an Internet-based, searchable database of U.S. newspapers with descriptive information and select digitization of historic pages. Supported by NEH, this rich digital resource will be developed and permanently maintained at the Library of Congress. An NEH award program will fund the contribution of content from, eventually, all U.S. states and territories.

Coverage: 1836-1922
New York Times (1851-2020) This link opens in a new window
The Historical New York Times collection offers both full page and article digital images in PDF format with searchable full text back to the first issue.
New York Times (1985-Present) This link opens in a new window
Includes full-text coverage of the New York Times back to 1985. Updated daily. Coverage: 1985 - current.