Sidney Cox Library of Music and Dance

For the 50th anniversary of hip hop, with its origins in the Bronx in August 1973, items from the Cornell Hip Hop Collection are on display in the rotunda of Cornell University Library’s Rare and Manuscript Collections in the lower level of Carl A. Kroch Library. It’s Just Begun: Celebrating 50 Years of the Hip […]

On May 8, 1977, the Grateful Dead performed at Barton Hall at Cornell University, and this concert is considered to be one of the band’s best performances. Read all about it in Cornell ’77 by Peter Conners (call number ML421. G77 C65 2017), and listen to the recording Cornell 5/8/77 made by Grateful Dead audio […]

From Schubert’s “Gretchen am Spinnrade” to the 1950s romantic ballad “Blue Velvet,” fabrics like silk, satin, velvet, and cotton have loomed large in the poetry and lyrics of vocal music. This exhibit explores the interweaving of music and textiles with examples drawn from crowd-sourced suggestions from the Cornell community! Our displays feature materials from the […]

This exhibit will focus on the glittering, fantastical, and often audacious costumes that have defined the image of performers from 18th-century operatic superstar Farinelli to 20th-century and contemporary popular music icons including Cindy Lauper, Queen, and Rihanna. The exhibit features materials from the Music Library’s Special Collections, including historical programs and photographs, album covers, anniversary […]

Please join our Music Library colleagues Caitlin Mathes and Bill Cowdery for a musical performance to mark the opening of the exhibit “Songs to Leave You in Stitches”! Songs to Leave You in Stitches A short musical performance of songs from the ILGWU musical Pins & Needles Friday, September 23 5:15 p.m. Music Library, 316 […]

Welcome to the Music Library! We are so happy to have you here for the fall 2022 semester, and we are ready to assist you in using music resources, researching musical topics, and more. We have a vast collection of scores, books, audio recordings, and video recordings — both physical and electronic — as well […]

  Request an appointment   We are pleased to welcome researchers back to the Music Library for browsing the stacks, on-site checkouts, and reading room space for use of special collections and other library materials.   Please note that only current Cornell students, faculty, and staff who have been approved to be on campus and […]

Dear Music Library lovers,   Welcome to the Fall 2020 semester!   Library services across the university are constantly evolving, so please check the Cornell University Library COVID-19 updates page periodically for up-to-date information on various on-site and virtual services, including use of physical collections, online access to resources, purchase requests, library instruction, and more. […]

Dear Music Department,   Please see our Music Research Guide (and check it periodically for updates) for access to newly available electronic resources that may be useful in carrying out the remainder of the spring semester. Several publishers are offering free access to their materials through May 31, 2020. These include general interest resources, multidisciplinary databases, […]

RILM Music Encyclopedias is available for use through May 31, 2020 due to the COVID-19 crisis. Description from the publisher: RILM Music Encyclopedias is a continually expanding curated full-text collection that currently comprises 57 titles published from 1775 to the present. Its content spans various fields and subject areas of historical musicology, ethnomusicology and theory, […]

Recent Researches in Music Online (RRIMO) is available for use through May 31, 2020 due to the COVID-19 crisis. Description from the publisher: A-R Editions has published Recent Researches in Music—critical performing editions of music in seven series (Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, 19th/20th centuries, American, and Oral Traditions)—since its inception in 1962. The series fall […]

BabelScores (contemporary music scores) is available for use for the time being due to the COVID-19 crisis.  

Bloomsbury Popular Music is available for use through May 31, 2020 due to the COVID-19 crisis. Description from the publisher: Bloomsbury Popular Music offers access to a broad and expanding range of content: Multiple volumes from the landmark reference work, Bloomsbury Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World, with new volumes from top international contributors […]

If you have visited the music library, you have probably seen our large, wooden sculpture near the circulation desk, Spanish Ball.  Here is what the sculptor, Todd McGrain, has to say about its origin and meaning:   The sphere, defined by 15 perfect circumferences, is one of the iconic geometric structures.  I have been compelled […]

Cornell has new trial access to Bloomsbury Popular Music through March 12, 2018.About this resource: The 14-volume Bloomsbury Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World (10 volumes available at launch) All 120+ volumes of the 33 1/3 book series, providing in-depth analysis of influential albums An expanding range of scholarly books from Bloomsbury’s Popular Music […]

Cornell has trial access to Ethnographic Sound Archives Online through September 14, 2017.This collection brings together audio recordings from field expeditions around the world, particularly from the 1960s through the 1980s. It consists primarily of field recordings, along with selections of contextualizing field notes, photographs, and film. At completion, it will contain over 2,000 hours […]

Cornell has trial access to Bloomsbury Popular Music through September 7, 2017. About this resource: The 14-volume Bloomsbury Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World (10 volumes available at launch) All 120+ volumes of the 33 1/3 book series, providing in-depth analysis of influential albums An expanding range of scholarly books from Bloomsbury’s Popular Music […]

Cornell University Library has secured a free trial of Qello Concerts, a streaming video database specializing in rock concerts and music documentaries. Genres such as classic rock, jazz, blues, pop, country, and metal are represented. See a fuller description here:https://qello.com/about_us   To try out Qello Concerts and other video databases from RBdigital, visit the RBdigital […]

The New York Public Library has announced its acquisition of the Lou Reed Archive.

ANNOUNCING THE POPULAR CULTURE SUMMER RESEARCH INSTITUTE AT BOWLING GREEN STATE UNIVERSITY May 21-25, 2017 Reminder: Travel Grant applications are due 24 March 2017. “Exploring the Archives: Fifty Years of Popular Culture” For the second time, the PCA/ACA and Bowling Green State University are jointly sponsoring a summer research institute on the Bowling Green, Ohio […]