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Music Periodical Indexes
Pros & Cons

Below are "pros & cons" lists that might help users select the appropriate periodical index to search. In many cases, users will need to consult more than one index.

For descriptions of and links to music indexes, go to Music Database Descriptions on the Music & Dramatic Arts Library web page.

Learn more about Finding Periodical Articles (music emphasis). This site includes information about citing resources and reading citations in bibliographies.

For indexes in other disciplines, go to the UConn Libraries' Databases web page, located on the UConn Libraries homepage.

               

Music Index. Online version 1976-present. Print version 1949-present. ML 118 .M84 Mus Lib Ref.

Lists popular & scholarly music articles, book reviews. Cites and subject headings. No abstracts.

 

Pros

Extensive coverage of most musical topics.

Goes back further than IIMP.

Cons

No abstracts; incomplete cites; duplication of entries.

 

International Index to Music Periodicals.  Online 1996– . Citations, subject headings, and abstracts for  music articles published after 1996. Cites to selected periodicals before 1996 (including about 40 complete run titles).

 

Pros

Extensive coverage after 1996 for most musical topics.

Abstracts for entries after 1996.

Indexes 40 journals completely. Indexes popular music journals.

Covers NYT and Washington Post.

Good for recent reviews. 

Cons

No abstracts or subject headings in pre-1996 entries (this reduces search success)

Spotty coverage pre-1996.

Citations incomplete (e.g., lack ending page nos.).

"Document Types" untraditional; they refer to type of discourse (e.g., “historical,” rather than format (e.g., article).

Searches are less precise (e.g., limiting is difficult).

 

RILM (Répertoire International de Littérature Musicale / International Repertory of Music Literature). 1967– . Online and print (ML 118.R48 Mus Lib Ref.) International database of scholarly writings on music and related disciplines.

 

Pros (Web Version)

Indexes articles, books, chapters, dissertations, essays, etc.

Complete citations.

Abstracts & detailed subject headings in most entries (more precise retrieval).

 

Extracts list of subject headings.

Can email citations.

Precise searching. 

Cons (Web Version)

Excludes popular music, except scholarly research.

Excludes “applied” and “professional” topics.

Subject headings not always consistent

Searching by RILM No. tricky

Thesaurus of terms not online (but browse list is)

 

 

WilsonWeb or InfoTrac Available through library web pages.

A journal citation/full-text database combining entries from several databases (Social Sciences Index, Humanities Index, Art Abstracts, Business Periodicals Index, Reader's Guide, Education Index, General Science Index, etc.).

 

Pros

Has the full text to many music articles.

Finds articles in non-music periodicals.

Has links to UConn holdings.

Many abstracts included.

Cons

Covers only a few music periodicals.

Limited years covered.

Every database uses different subject headings; user must try several terms.

 

Humanities Index.  1984– . Available through Wilsonweb (above).

Online periodical index includes 345 English-language periodicals on archaeology, classical studies, folklore, journalism and communications, area studies, history, language, literature, performing arts, philosophy, religion, and

theology. For earlier years (1974-1993) in paper format, see Babbidge Ref. AI 3 H85. Selective coverage of music.

 

Arts and Humanities Citation Index. 1980– .  Available through FirstSearch and Web of Science on library web page.

Lists citations used in an article, and searches for all cited references to a known author, work, or journal title (so one can see how frequently an author or work is cited). Useful for gathering citations, or identifying prolific or influential individuals or works. Is cross disciplinary (within and beyond the humanities), and often finds older literature.

More notes on A&HCI: is broader than RILM, especially for book reviews. Not all cites are listed; rather, it includes only the most deeply cited journals. Indexing is inconsistant. Searches can be difficult to enter depending on the interface.