Music Library
The Music Library's collections are integral to the success of the programs offered by the Don Wright Faculty of Music. As the Music Library is ideally-situated in close proximity to the Faculty of Music, our students and faculty are regular and enthusiastic borrowers; Music Faculty tend to use their library more than the faculty members of other disciplines.
The Music Library's large general collection serves a wide range of student and faculty musical interests in the areas of: instrumental and vocal performance (both historical and contemporary Western art music), music education, music history, popular music, composition and music theory.
Access the Western Libraries Music Library page
While there is often an unwillingness to treat a particular subject area as "special," any large music collection is, by its very nature, special. The multiplicity of formats (in addition to books, journals, microfilms and videos):
- Full scores
- Miniature scores
- Composers' collected works
- Collected sets
- Monuments of music
- Chamber music with accompanying parts for performance
- Multiple copies of choral music for choirs
- Performing editions for large ensembles: sets of parts for band
and orchestra - Cassettes and videocassettes
- LPs
- CDs and DVDs
all require special care, binding and handling, as well as appropriate shelving and security.
While Western's Music Library has not the benefit of centuries of acquisition (as have European libraries), it has amassed an impressive general collection over a span of some forty years:
- 69,587 scores (titles, including those in the C/B/O - a.k.a. The Choral / Band / Orchestral library, TC 134)
- 25,600 LPs
- 28,300 CDs**
- 31,460 books (does not include periodicals)
- 11,782 microforms (fiche, film and microcards)
- 2,600 rare books, scores, and libretti
- 600 current periodicals
- 450 videos
[figures as of April 30, 2011 - significant numbers of music titles in-storage are not included here]
*These items are all listed on the Western Libraries Catalogue and
may be best found via a KEYWORD search.
** The Music Library has a significant backlog of CDs which are
not
included in this figure - in particular, major donations
from recording
companies are not included here.
The UWO Music Library also holds several important and unique Special Collections.
Also from this web page:
About Us
