The Listening Area

The Irving S. Gilmore Music Library Home    About the Music Library     Collections    Services Services Access to Collections    Circulation     Course Reserves     Interlibrary Loan Reference & Research Assistance     Photocopiers     Special Collections      Study Carrels     Tours and Research Workshops

Access to Collections

All holders of Yale IDs or Yale Library borrowing cards may borrow material from the Music Library.  In addition, local musicians and researchers worldwide are welcome to do research in the library.  For borrowing privileges, please apply to the Privileges Office in Sterling Memorial Library.  Researchers who wish to make use of the Music Library's special collections should make an appointment.  Most archival collections, and many low-use books, are now shelved off-campus (with the location LSF) and require one to two business days for retrieval.  For other information, please see Yale University Library Access and Privileges.

Special Collections (Music Library, Historical Sound Recordings, and American Musical Theatre Collection)

The Music Library's rare, manuscript, and archival collections are housed in several locations.  For days and hours of service, please see About the Library - Hours.  Note that advance notice is required for paging materials for much of the special collections.  Researchers are urged to contact the appropriate staff member in advance of their visits, as much material cannot be retrieved within one day.

• Rare books, scores, and periodicals (classed M, ML, and in Yale classification) are housed in the Beinecke Library and are paged by Beinecke service staff.  Books in the MT classification are housed in the Gilmore Music Library and are paged by the Special Collections staff.
• Single Manuscripts (classed Misc. Ms. or Ma21 Y11) are housed in the Gilmore Music Library and in the Beinecke Library--researchers should register with the Special Collections staff, who will page material and bring it to the appropriate reading room.
• Archival collections (classed MSS) are shelved in several locations; most are shelved off-campus and require one to two business days for retrieval.  Researchers should contact the Special Collections staff several days in advance for an appointment.  Researchers interested in Cole Porter, E.Y. "Yip" Harburg, or The South Before the War Company Papers should contact the Historical Sound Recordings Curator.
• The Historical Sound Recordings Collection and American Musical Theatre Collection are shelved in several locations.  Some material is currently inaccessible in storage.  Many H.S.R. books have been shelved in the stacks in the basement and can be browsed by researchers.  Other material is available for study only by appointment.  Contact the Historical Sound Recordings Curator.

Access to the Music Library's holdings is available through Orbis, the Yale Library's online catalog. All of the Music Library's published scores and books have been entered into the Orbis database. Recordings, microforms, and manuscript material cataloged since 1981 are also in Orbis; earlier cataloging is only available in the specialized card catalogs in the Music Library lobby.  Historical Sound Recordings collection books are in Orbis; the Curator maintains lists that index the sound recordings.  For more information, see Music Catalogs at Yale and Beyond.

Circulation Services & Loan Periods

• Books and scores circulate to faculty for one year, to graduate students for six months, and to undergraduates, staff, and other Yale Library cardholders for two months. Material is subject to recall for other readers after two weeks.  The circulating stacks are located in the basement of the Music Library.  See below for Course Reserve circulation policies.
• CD-ROMs circulate for 24 hours; they may be paged at the Circulation Desk.
• Microfilms must be paged weekdays during business hours at the Circulation Desk, but can be placed on reserve for night and weekend use.  Microfilms do not circulate outside of the building, but may be borrowed for use in the Sterling Memorial Library Microform Reading Room, where reader-printers are available.  The reader-printers take copy cards available for purchase in the nave of Sterling Memorial Library. Microfiche must also be paged during business hours weekdays.  There is a microfiche reader in the basement (Room 3) and reader-printers available in the SML Microform Reading Room.
• Periodicals, facsimiles editions of scores, H.S.R. books, reference books, and Yale dissertations do not circulate.  Should the library have a second copy, the second copy circulates.  The periodical and reference collections are located on the mezzanine level of the library.  The facsimile editions of scores and Yale dissertations are shelved in the stacks in the basement.
• Recordings, DVDs, and videos in the Recordings Collection do not circulate outside the library; they may be paged at the Circulation Desk for listening and viewing within the library.  Arrangements may be made with the Recordings Collection Supervisor for class presentations and for faculty loans.  Recordings in the Yale Collection of Historical Sound Recordings may be listened to only by appointment.
• For information on Special Collections, see above.

Hours | Telephone and E-mail | Yale University Library Circulation Services

Course Reserves

Course reserves are located on the main floor, near the Circulation Desk.  Reserve material must be checked out for each use.  Reserve books and scores circulate for 2 hours during the day, to be used in the library only.  During the last hour the library is opened, books and scores may be checked out overnight, to be returned within the first open hour the next day of service.  Reserve recordings also circulate for 2 hours during open hours, to be listened to within the library, but do not circulate overnight.  Fines are the same as for Sterling Memorial Library.

Interlibrary Loan

The Music Library participates in Interlibrary Loan through services offered by the Sterling Memorial Library Interlibrary Loan Office. Yale affiliates needing scores, books, and articles not owned by the Yale University Library, may submit requests in person, through Web forms, through Borrow Direct, or through the SFX links in many subscription databases (such as RILM, Eureka, WorldCat, etc.).  In addition, loans of circulating books and scores or photocopies of articles are made to other libraries.  For more information on loans to other libraries, please see Yale University Library Interlibrary Loan.

Photocopiers

Photocopiers are available on the main level between rooms ML112 and ML115 and on the mezzanine level in the corridor behind the Reference Room; the copiers only take copy cards which can be purchased in the nave of Sterling Memorial Library.

Reference & Research Assistance

Reference and research assistance is available from the Assistant Music Librarian for Public Services, Room ML112 on the main floor of the library, or from staff in the Music Library Office on the mezzanine level, Room ML106M.
Hours and Contact Information | Reference Question Form | More about Reference Services

Study Carrels

Music PhD students who have have completed their second year and are studying for their qualifying exams may request a study carrel.  Most study carrels are located in the basement; a few are in the Periodicals Room on the mezzanine level.  Carrel holders may reserve material for their carrels by bringing books or scores to the Circulation Supervisor.  Material on carrel reserve may be checked out by Yale affiliates for 24 hours.  Contact the Assistant Music Librarian for Technical Services to request a carrel.

Tours and Research Workshops

Music Library staff offer several tours and research workshops each Fall.  Faculty, instructors, and groups of students may also request special sessions tailored to their needs.  Contact the Assistant Music Librarian for Public Services to schedule a session.