Whittaker - a presence in the music library world

NOT ONLY does 'Whittaker'  provide you with quality performing arts information - and useful links to support study, teaching and research ...

... he now presides over one of the library offices, too.  Gazing benignly down over one and all, we hope he will be an inspirational presence.  This is a photo of a bust of William Gillies Whittaker.

Essay crisis? Who are you going to call?

First year music students at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland have essays on the horizon.  Where to start? 



Assemble any notes you've already made
Check the library catalogue. (Do ask the staff if you need help with finding things in the catalogue or on the shelves!)
Don't forget all the electronic resources available to you. The library website has an A-Z of e-resources (all of them) or just the Databases.
DATABASES: Get an idea of what's available by consulting JSTOR (full-text articles) or RILM (abstracts/summaries of a wide range of items)
We just subscribe to the JSTOR music package, so do make sure you're using the "Items available to me" tab, and not "all items".
With RILM, an advanced search means you can select English language materials - or items in other languages. We can obtain items from elsewhere, but it's not usually necessary unless you're writing a dissertation or extended essay.
E-journals - look at our A-Z list, and see what might be useful. Articles are generally full-text. If you can't gain access to a whole article, consult the library staff.
Streamed music services - Naxos or Classical Music Library. You'll need to login if you're off-site. Ask us if you need a reminder of the login. Archival Sound Recordings are useful for historical topics.
Scottish theme to your essay? Don't forget Scran - multi-media resources - pictures, photos, film, sound, images of old Scottish music ... (What is Scran? Click here)
Ask the subject librarian if you get stuck at any point in your researches.
And the Effective Learning Services team are always on hand to help, too. Contact them at:- els@rcs.ac.uk
Alexander (Sandy) Hutchison, RLF Writing Fellow also advises on all aspects of writing. Contact Sandy at: a.hutchison@rcs.ac.uk

Music Streaming - good news for 2012

Classical Music Library

(Alexander Street Press)

Classical Music Library – one of the Whittaker Library’s music streaming services – has just notified us of a huge addition to their provision.  They’ve now got lots more EMI recordings.  Staff and students can stream recordings via our library website.  Why not take a look at what’s on offer?  Here’s our databases page. 

Subject: Major EMI content release into Classical Music Library and Music Online

I am pleased to announce that we released 1,409 albums (35,688 tracks) into Classical Music Library and Music Online today!  We have now released the remaining EMI material into Classical Music Library, adding to the already 22,000 tracks of EMI already in the database - over 50,000 tracks of EMI in total.

New content comes from EMI Classics, Angel Records, Capitol Catalog, and more.

Highlights include recordings by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Jussi Bjorling, Victoria De Los Angeles, Itzhak Perlman, Renata Scotto, Mstislav Rostropovich, London Symphony Orchestra, Taverner Choir, Maria Callas, Jon Vickers, Melos Ensemble, Pinchas Zuckerman, Borodin Quartet, Christoph Eschenbach, Elly Ameling, Trio Sonnerie,  Alban Berg Quartett, Chung Trio, John Ogdon, and more.

Also included in this release are hundreds of full length operas ... 

Classical Music Library now includes 7,417 albums, equaling 134,381 tracks, and is growing regularly.

Researchers' use of academic libraries

This report, published by the Research Information Network, can be read online here. It's also accessible:-

1. Via the RSAMD Moodle VLE (Virtual Learning Environment)
2. In the Whittaker Library catalogue, so you can always come back to look for it by keywords later.)

If you like this, you may like to check out the RIN A-Z of Project Reports. Hours of relevant reading matter.