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Music: Books

Subjects: Music

Introduction

The majority of books held by the Bodleian Libraries, in both physical and electronic formats, can be searched for via SOLO. If you are new to Oxford libraries or to SOLO, we recommend visiting the 'Getting Started' and 'How to' guides at the links below.

Physical books

The following tabs list Oxford libraries with physical collections of interest to musicians. Collections access and borrowing privileges are subject to conditions; please check individual library websites for further information.

For those wishing to learn more about searching for physical collections in Oxford, we recommend the following:


Other subject libraries of interest include:

Electronic books (ebooks)

Ebooks are digital manifestations of written works. Broadly speaking they come in two forms: they are either 'born digital' or are digital reproductions of printed books. Many have enhanced functionality, while some have restrictive access and usage terms.

The links below are provided for those wishing to learn more about ebooks, while the following tabs list ebook collections and platforms relevant to the study of philosophy.

There are few ebook collections which are dedicated purely to music but relevant books will often be found in more general packages. We recommend visiting Databases A-Z for a full breakdown of eresource packages, including trials and new arrivals, available to Oxford University members.

A number of eresources, including ebook collections, are freely available online. Some of these are indexed in Databases A-Z and can be identified by the following symbol:

A blue globe symbol indicating that a eresource is online and freely available to all.

A selection of other free ebook collections, not listed on Databases A-Z, are given below.

Book recommendations & inter-library loans

If we don't have the book you are looking for, you can make a recommendation by completing the form below (Single-Sign On required). Alternatively we may be able to source it through Oxford's inter-library loan service.

New books on music

There are displays of newly-acquired books on Music in the Weston Library's Mackerras Reading Room and the Music Faculty Library.

Why are some books not available electronically?

There are a number of reasons why the Bodleian Libraries may be unable to provide electronic access to a resource. The Social Science Library have produced a brief, digestible blog post explaining some of these reasons: