1. Music 1341: Library Research
Tracey Snyder
Assistant Music Librarian
tls224@cornell.edu

2. Today’s Session: topic—wayang
Please open four Internet tabs:
 Google/Wikipedia
 Can be a good place to start; definitely a bad place
to stop!
 Library Guide (from Blackboard)
 Links to various useful tools selected for this class
 Library website
 Access to two different library catalog interfaces
 Research databases TBA as the session
progresses
 Links from Blackboard

3. Google—use sparingly
 Search “wayang”
 Consult Wikipedia article for overview
 Look at list of bibliographical references—are
these scholarly sources? Are they relatively
recent?
 A general Google search is all but useless for
scholarly research, but tools like Google Books
and Google Scholar do have value.

4. Some Types of Research Tools
 Subject encyclopedias (Garland, etc.)
 Good starting point for getting background
information
 Bibliographies (pub’d separately, or with
encyclopedia entry)
 Good starting point for choosing sources
 Periodical indexes/literature indexes (RILM, etc.)
 Good for discovering other scholarly sources on
your topic
 Cornell’s catalog and Cornell’s articles tab
 Good for locating known items and discovering
related items

5. Garland Encyclopedia
 Access through Library Guide
 Major scholarly reference source for topics in
world music—use in place of (or in addition to)
Wikipedia
 Search “wayang”
 Scan the bibliography, looking for items that are
somewhat recent, and on topic (can be
wayang, or more general)

6. Cornell’s Catalog (Books)
 Search title of overall work cited in Garland
bibliography (not title of chapter) to locate it in
the Cornell Libraries
 Advanced Search works well for known-item
searching

7. Cornell’s Articles (Articles)
 Search title of article cited in Garland bibliography
to access the article if available in electronic form
 Advanced Search works well for known-item
searching
 * If the article is only available in print
form, search title of journal (not title of article) in
Cornell’s catalog

8. ProQuest Dissertations and
Theses
 Access to the full text of dissertations and theses
by music scholars (soon-to-be faculty)
 Keep in mind that each of these scholars usually
publishes a book based on the dissertation
several years later—search the author in the
library catalog to find out if the book has been
published yet
 Title usually differs somewhat
 Content is updated, so prefer the book over the
dissertation

9. RILM and Music Index
 Indexes to the scholarly literature in the field of
music
 Can be searched separately or simultaneously—
some overlap
 Why are these useful?
 Article-level/chapter-level indexing
 Variety of formats—
books, chapters, articles, dissertations, etc.
 Detailed subject headings
 Abstracts—truly helpful!
 Search “wayang” as general keyword; can also
specify to search for term in abstract, subject
heading, title, etc.

10. Back to Cornell’s Catalog and
Articles
 RILM and Music Index often link directly to the
article if it is available in electronic form (Get It!
Cornell)
 If not, search in Cornell’s catalog and articles
tab, as before
 Use catalog for books
 Use articles tab for articles (in electronic form)
 Use catalog for journals (for articles in print form)
 Use ProQuest Dissertations and Theses (for
dissertations)

11. Cornell’s Catalog and Articles
Again
 Try different keyword searches to discover more
sources
 Catalog: When you find something
promising, look at the subject headings, and use
them in a new search (by clicking a subject
heading, or by entering subject terms in an
Advanced Search by Subject) to find similar items
 Articles: Browse subject headings etc. using the
facets on the left; try out different possibilities

12. About Scholarly Research
 Search several different places for sources
 Search several different ways for sources
 Be prepared to spend time searching
for, selecting, and locating sources
 Start searching early; allow time for requesting
materials that are already checked out or are not
yet owned by Cornell
 Ask a librarian or your instructor for help if you are
getting stuck or feeling unsure about your results

13. In Summary
 Expect to see some of the same sources turn up
in different places—that’s a good thing
 Embrace serendipitous discoveries
 Think of searching for sources as an iterative
process
 Find out about it
 Find it
 Find more like it