Northern Illinois University Music Library

Welcome Back, Huskies!

2020-01-13T08:00:00.000-06:00

Sarah Holmes and I have been busy this past semester, and we are excited to share a few updates that have taken place inside the Music Library. We had the pleasure of working with Sophia Varcados from the Office of Marketing and Creative Services. Together we were able to print and install new signage on our entrance windows, a new “hours” sign outside of our entrance and a couple of nice signs to display when welcoming our students and faculty to the Music Library. Sophia was huge help in the design process and even during installation. We are very happy to have these simple, yet crucial updates to our space.

In addition, Sarah, Dean Barnhart, Joe Thomas and I have been working alongside School of Music Director, Andrew Glendening to move the School of Music DoIT Computer Lab into the Music Library. We have obtained 10 computers equipped with music notation software and midi piano keyboards, newer desks and chairs to be used with these machines, as well as a phone and laptop charging station. We are excited for the new to us items in the Music Library and even more excited for the student patrons that this will draw in. With the addition of these computers, we were able to relocate one of our catalog computers to the second floor, allowing our patrons to search the online catalog without having to go up and down stairs repetitively. We have also opened up some space on the main floor we like to call our Reading Nook. It allows for individual or small group study.

Also, in collaboration with the School of Music Faculty, our 2^nd floor classroom has been updated with matching chairs(!) and outdated equipment has been removed. This space will now be used as the primary conference room for the faculty and staff of CVPA, while still being available for faculty and student use.

We hope that our Music Library Patrons will enjoy these new 2020 updates. Happy New Year!

- Kate Swope, SMLS

Research and Artistry Lecture Series: Tuba Christmas, 2019 – Applied Artist, Scott Tegge

2020-01-06T09:52:00.001-06:00

On December 3, 2019, the University Libraries’ Programming and Promotions Committee held its inaugural “Research and Artistry Series” event with a musical performance and lecture by Applied Artist, Scott Tegge and his NIU Tuba and Euphonium Studio. The event was a great success, with over 90 people in attendance, among them, President Freeman and Provost Ingram. There were students, faculty, staff and community members in attendance. Cookies and Cocoa were provided, and the ensemble performed holiday music for an hour, in Founders Memorial Gallery. There was a short lecture given by Graduate Student Dennis Meacham covering tuba history, and Prof. Tegge entertained us with interesting anecdotes about the tuba, what it’s like to be music major at NIU, and informed us about a worldwide event called Tuba Christmas (which this event was a part of).

Tuba Christmas was conceived in 1974 by Harvey Phillips, American Tuba Player and Professor at Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, as a tribute to his teacher and mentor William J. Bell, born on Christmas Day, 1902. Through the legendary William J. Bell, tuba players all over the world reflect on their heritage and honor all great artists/teachers whose legacies have given them high performance standards, well-structured pedagogy, professional integrity, personal values and a camaraderie envied by all other instrumentalists.

The Programming and Promotions Committee was very proud to host Prof. Tegge and his studio for what we hope to become a yearly tradition of holiday brass music in Founders Memorial Library. The “Research and Artistry Series” is open to all disciplines with the goal of sharing and exploring research and artistry occurring on the NIU Campus. Faculty from all disciplines are encouraged apply.

- Kate Swope, Senior Music Library Specialist

Good Luck with Finals!

2019-12-05T11:09:00.003-06:00

Dear Students,

The end of the semester is already upon us and I know you are working diligently to write exam papers, finish projects and practice for juries. Keep your heads up and know that YOU CAN DO IT!

The Music Library will be open our regular hours this week and next. If you have any questions at all about research, citations, writing help, grammar, or if you just need someone to talk to, do not hesitate to come in and chat with us. Sarah and I are always happy to help in any way we can.

Good luck with finals, everyone!

-Kate

New Improvements to the Music Library

2019-11-19T16:27:00.000-06:00

New Improvements to the Music Library

Hi Friends! If you’ve been in recently, you will notice a few changes in the Music Library this semester. One big one that just happened last week, was our new signage on the front doors. Look at these! How awesome is it that we can now be identified!

Thank you SO MUCH to Sophia Varcados, Graphic Design Supervisor from University Marketing and Creative Services. She did excellent work getting these window clings made and put up. We couldn't have done this without you!

In addition to the new signage, we are looking forward to receiving TEN student worker stations all equipped with music notation software. Some of these stations will be housed upstairs in the 2nd floor small study rooms, while others will be on the back wall of the main floor. We are very excited to be able to offer this new equipment to our students, faculty, and staff. The computer equipment move is planned for early December, and will hopefully be completed by the beginning of the Spring 2020 semester. Go Huskies!

New Music Librarian at NIU!

2015-08-26T10:40:00.000-05:00

Hello Huskies! My name is Abbey Thompson and I'm thrilled and honored to be your new Music Librarian. My first day of work was June 1st, and after a peaceful summer to get acclimated to DeKalb and NIU, I'm ready to get this party started!

A bit about my background...

I have a Master of Arts in Musicology and a Master of Science Library Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (2006 and 2008, respectively). I also have a Bachelor of Music degree in Performance (Vocal) from the University of California, Santa Barbara (2000).
Prior to taking the position here at NIU, I served as the Collection Services Manager for the Music Library at Princeton University. I have also worked at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities as a cataloger of rare childrens books, and for Southeastern Libraries Cooperating (Rochester, MN) as a Project Manager and music cataloger for the Chatfield Brass Band Music Lending Library. While in graduate school at UNC Chapel Hill I worked in the Metadata Research Center, Rare Books & Special Collections, and for the Southern Folklife Collection.

My scholarly interests include early music (particularly vocal music) and the early music revival of the 20th century, as well as performance practice, music reception, pop music studies, and video game music. On the library side of things, I am interested in taxonomies/folksonomies, music user services, and music reference. In my spare time, I enjoy singing, cooking/baking, and I'm an avid player of video games and board games.

My role here at NIU is to help you with your music research needs. As well as being your librarian, I'm a member of the tenure-track faculty, performing research and publishing in my own right. You can count on me to be a professional ally! Feel free to stop by and chat with me in the music library - right now I even have some homemade chocolate chip cookies to tempt you in.

New Music Library Hours

2014-12-05T15:57:00.000-06:00

The Music Library will maintain regular hours during the entire Final Examination period... See http://www.ulib.niu.edu/aboutus/musiclib.cfm for the regular schedule.
After finals are over, the Music Library will be closed on Sunday, December 14th, the reopen on Monday, December 15th with the Intersession Schedule (Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m. - noon and 1:00 - 4:30 p.m.) until we close for the Winter Break. We hope your Final Examination period goes well!

Voice Majors - New Subscription to Classical Singer!

2014-11-21T09:56:00.000-06:00

NIU's Music Library now has a subscription to Classical Singer magazine, and you may access it here: http://vufind.carli.illinois.edu/vf-niu/Record/niu_2635076 .

Music Library Hours - Thanksgiving Week

2014-11-18T15:43:00.002-06:00

The Music Library will have different hours next week, to accommodate the Thanksgiving holiday break.

Schedule starting Next Week:

Monday, Nov. 24 - Tuesday, Nov. 25: 8:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m. (Regular Hours)

Wednesday, Nov. 26: 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. (Reduced Hours)

Thursday, Nov. 27: CLOSED

Friday, Nov. 28: CLOSED

Saturday, Nov. 29: CLOSED

Sunday, Nov. 30: CLOSED

Monday, Dec. 1 - Thursday, Dec. 4: 8:00 - 10:00 p.m. (Regular Hours resume)

We hope you have a restful break!

2014-10-28T14:07:00.000-05:00

New Reference Title:
Have you ever wanted to look for analyses of pieces of music from 1940 on? The NIU Music Library has acquired a new reference book that can help you with that! Stop by and find it in the Reference section on the first floor.

Hoek, D.J. Analyses of Nineteenth- and Twentieth-Century Music, 1940-2000. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 2007. MUR ML113.H695 2007.

2014-10-06T14:47:00.000-05:00

Hello Everyone!

My name is Elizabeth, and I'll be taking over as the Interim Music Librarian since Mike has left NIU. I am looking forward to meeting and working with all of you!

If you have a question or anything that I can help you with, please stop by and see me from 1:00-4:00 p.m. Monday-Wednesday of this week, and Monday-Friday, 1:00-4:00 p.m. in the coming weeks. If you can't come in during that time, please feel free to email me at ecribbs at niu dot edu, and we can work out an alternate time.

Best Wishes,

Elizabeth

New Reference Title

2014-10-03T15:23:00.000-05:00

The Music Library recently received a new reference resource:

Vazsonyi, Nicholas, ed. The Cambridge Wagner Encyclopedia. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2013. Call no. MUR ML410.W1 C36 2013.

This is my last post on the Music Library Blog as Music Librarian. It has been a pleasure to serve you, and I wish you all the best in the future!

Leadership transition

2014-09-12T11:23:00.001-05:00

After serving as Music Librarian since 2002, Michael Duffy will leave Northern Illinois University on October 3, to begin his appointment to the position of Performing Arts Librarian at Western Michigan University. Michael has enjoyed his time at NIU greatly, and he wishes everyone continued success in their studies.

Elizabeth Hille Cribbs will serve as the acting Music Librarian beginning on Monday, October 6. Elizabeth earned the MSLS (library science) from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the MA in musicology from the University of Missouri at Kansas City. Since January of 2013, Elizabeth has served as the Music Catalog Librarian at NIU, and she has been involved in reference service in the Music Library over the past year. She is active in the Music Library Association, the Midwest Chapter of the Music Library Association, the Music OCLC Users Group, and the Consortium of Academic and Research Libraries in Illinois. She will be available in the Music Library on weekdays from 1 to 4 p.m. or by appointment.

New Reference Book

2014-09-02T09:51:00.000-05:00

The Music Library recently received this reference book:

Carman, Judith E., William K. Gaeddert, and Rita M. Resch. Art Song in the United States, 1759-2011: An Annotated Bibliography, 4th ed. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow, 2013. Call no. MUR ML128.S3 C37 2013.

Welcome Back -- New Reference Resources

2014-08-28T14:05:00.000-05:00

Welcome back to NIU for the Fall Semester!

The Music Library recently received the following reference books:

Collins, Irma H. Dictionary of Music Education. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow, 2013. Call no. MUR ML102.M76 C65 2013

Keillor, Eliane, Tim Archambault, and John M. H. Kelly. Encyclopedia of Native American Music of North America. Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood, 2013. Call no. MUR ML102.N37 K45 2013

Marvin, Roberta Montemorra, ed. The Cambridge Verdi Encyclopedia. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2013. Call no. MUR ML102.O6 C16 2013

Torres, George, ed. Encyclopedia of Latin American Popular Music. Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood, 2013. Call no. MUR ML101.L38 E53 2013

Happy Independence Day!

2014-07-03T16:11:00.002-05:00

The Music Library will close at 5 p.m. today, and will open at 8 a.m. on Monday, July 7. Have a safe and happy Independence Day!

New Reference Items

2014-06-27T14:42:00.000-05:00

The Music Library recently received two new reference resources.

The first is a critical edition, including commentary, a transcription, and a facsimile of Beethoven's "Eroica" Sketchbook, in 2 volumes, and the second is a detailed, chronologically arranged and annotated discography entitled Black Recording Artists, 1877-1926.

Beethoven, Ludwig van. Beethoven's "Eroica" Sketchbook: A Critical Edition. Transcribed, edited and with a commentary by Lewis Lockwood and Alan Gosman. 2 vol. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press, 2013. Call no. MUR ML96.4.B4 S9 2013.

Gibbs, Craig Martin, compiler. Black Recording Artists, 1877-1926: An Annotated Discography. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2013. Call no. MUR ML156.4.B56 G53 2013.

Welcome to the Summer semester!

2014-06-17T09:04:00.002-05:00

The Music Library is open during the Summer semester (June 16-August 10) on Monday-Thursday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., and on Friday from 8 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Congratulations, graduates!

2014-05-09T17:07:00.002-05:00

The Music Library wishes all NIU graduates a happy Graduation Weekend! The Music Library will be open according to its interim schedule of Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. until 12 noon and from 1 p.m. until 4:30 p.m. starting on Monday, May 12. This will continue until the Summer Semester begins on June 16. The Music Library will be closed on Saturday and Sunday, May 10-11.

Edward Elgar Thematic Catalogue

2014-04-28T16:08:00.000-05:00

The Music Library recently acquired Christopher Kent's thematic catalogue of Edward Elgar's works: Edward Elgar: A Thematic Catalogue and Research Guide, 2nd ed. (New York: Routledge, 2013). In addition to the catalogue of Elgar's works, it also contains a bibliography without annotations, and an inventory of archival material on Elgar. This work is found in the Music Library Reference Collection at call no. MUR ML134.E613 K46 2013.

2014-04-28T15:16:00.000-05:00

The reference desk at the Music Library will be open tonight from 7 to 9 for the last evening session this semester! If you have questions on your research that you need to finish before the end of the semester, tonight would be a great time to stop by the Music Library to ask for help! For more information on our reference service, see http://libguides.niu.edu/musicreferenceservice. We hope to see you tonight!

Music Library to close early on April 20

2014-04-16T10:44:00.002-05:00

The Music Library will be open from 1 p.m. until 8 p.m. on Sunday, April 20.

Get Help finding sources for your research paper at the Music Library tonight from 7 until 9

2014-04-07T11:18:00.002-05:00

Are you feeling the pinch of Spring Semester deadlines? Do you need help finding sources for your research papers? The Music Library reference desk will be open from 7 until 9 this evening. Please stop by and ask a question! We can help with your information needs. To learn more about reference service, click here (http://libguides.niu.edu/musicreference), or just stop by tonight!

Orchestral "Pops" Music: A Handbook

2014-04-04T16:11:00.000-05:00

The Music Library received the second edition of Lucy Manning's bibliography of pops music for orchestra, entitled Orchestral "Pops" Music: A Handbook. It is found at call number MUR ML128.O5 M36 2013. It is arranged in alphabetical order by composer, and entries for each work list instrumentation, themes, durations, and publishers. It will be useful for anyone involved in orchestral programming, especially conductors or music educators.

The University Libraries now offer Oxford Bibliographies Online: Music

2014-03-20T16:47:00.000-05:00

The Music Library now offers online access to Oxford Bibliographies Online: Music, funded by the University Libraries' Expensive Purchases Program. This is an online collection of bibliographies on many various musical topics. Entries in the bibliographies are annotated, and feature links to NIU resources via SFX, as well as built-in links to WorldCat and Google Books, when available. Under the direction of Editor in Chief Bruce Gustafson, the Editorial Board comprises musicologists of a variety of specialties. Users must access Oxford Bibliographies Online: Music from the NIU Campus network, or authenticate with their NIU network ID and password from off-campus.

Spring Break Schedule

2014-03-06T12:25:00.000-06:00

The Music Library wishes you a happy and safe Spring Break. The sign on the Music Library door erroneously posted that we would be closed during Spring Break, but this is not the case. That sign has been corrected. The Music Library will be open on a reduced schedule during Spring Break. We will operate according to the schedule below:

Saturday-Sunday, March 8-9: CLOSED

Monday-Friday, March 10-14: OPEN 8 a.m. to noon, CLOSED noon to 1 p.m., OPEN 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Saturday-Sunday, March 15-16: CLOSED

We will resume our regular Spring Semester schedule on Monday, March 17.