The library's scores and print books about music are arranged according to the Library of Congress Classification System. You can browse the library virtually (via the Library Catalog) according to the specific topics and subtopics represented by the classification numbers.
The three broadest music subclasses are:
M Scores
ML Music history, criticism, biography, bibliography
MT Music instruction and study
Below are several sample classification numbers:
M1001 Symphonies (scores)
M1500 Operas (scores)
ML100 Dictionaries and encyclopedias about music
ML410 Biographies of individual composers (arranged alphabetically by composer)
ML420 Biographies of singers
ML1700 Opera (books about opera)
ML2075 Motion picture music History and criticism
ML3533.8-ML3534.6 Rock music
ML3790 Music trade (the business of music)
ML3916-ML3918 Social and political aspects of music
The numbers above are just the beginnings of complete call numbers. For example, ML410 .M9 S815 1991 is the complete call number for the book The Mozart Myths: A Critical Reassessment by William Stafford. The .M9 represents Mozart, and S815 stands for the author's last name, Stafford.
In addition to browsing by call number, you may search the Library Catalog or JumpStart in other ways, such as by keyword, author, title, and subject. Here are several selected Library of Congress subject headings to enter as a subject search in the catalog:
Motion picture music History and criticism
Rock music History and criticism
or, Composers [Country] Biography (for example, Composers Germany Biography)
African American composers Biography
You can also perform a subject search using a musician's name to find biographies and criticism. You do not have to enter dates. Examples:
The subheading "Sources" following a topic or name indicates the work contains primary sources. For example:
Music History and criticism Sources
Stravinsky, Igor, 1882-1971 Sources
Primary sources are created by the musician being studied, or by contemporaries and associates. Primary sources include a composer's autobiographies, diaries, letters, interviews, annotations, and manuscripts of scores. Video and audio recordings of performances by musicians of their own works are primary sources. Scores and recordings created under the composer's supervision are also primary sources, as are reviews, correspondence, and biographies by contemporaries and associates.