The Authority of Open Access Journals

With the exponentially rising costs of scholarly journals there's been an ongoing debate about merits of publishing in open access journals. What does "open access" mean? According to Open Access Week, open access (OA) means "the free, immediate, online access to the results of scholarly research, and the right to use and re-use those results as you need" (http://www.openaccessweek.org/page/about, accessed 10/1/2012).

Researchers and scholars have a tradition of being wary, even disdainful, of internet-based resources and for good reasons! The web was intentionally designed to allow ease of access and to allow anyone to post information. This abundance of voices led to more information being posted that was not verified by a community of knowledgeable scholars and a lot of false or questionable information being broadcast over the internet. Even when information was accurate, key pieces of information might be missing that could lead to incorrect conclusions (see this recent article from the BBC of a colossal misreading of information from a reliable website: "North Sea Cod: Is it True There are Only 100 Left?"). Given the misleading nature of web-based resources, scholarship continued to rest in subscription-based peer-reviewed journals.

A variety of circumstances, however, (an increase in web-based research, a growing sense of content limitation in the existing journals, extensive costs to start a new fee-based journal, a desire to make scholarly research accessible to everyone, to name a few) have led to the rapid ascension of peer-reviewed open access journals. The review process for many of these open access journals is just as rigorous as it is for fee-based journals but places the research at the fingertips of anyone with an internet connection at no additional cost. The question that now confronts the scholarly community, and particularly the publishing community, is that of academic authority and the unspoken role publishers play in transmitting that authority to a journal and the articles it publishes. How have publisher's shaped this concept of academic authority? Should they have a continued role in this sense of academic truth? If so, what shape should this role take? If not, then where does scholarly publishing go from here? How are accuracy, authenticity, and honesty maintained in an open access setting?

Check out some of the open access music journals listed on the Music Research Guide and share your thoughts on the subject.

Music Score Collection!

We have not just thousands, but tens of thousands of scores here in the library! The best part is that you can check them out of the library and take them with you where ever you go - home, practice rooms, rehearsal, recitals, etc. We have music for solo instrument (in every instrument including voice), sonatas for an instrument with piano, duets, trios, quartets, quintets (keep your part and hand out the other parts to your ensemble mates!), concertos in full score (meaning all the different instruments of the orchestra appear on the same page) and in arrangements for solo instrument and piano (meaning there's a part for the soloist in a back pocket and the entire orchestra has been reduced for piano accompaniment), not to mention orchestral works, band works, operas, ballets, musicals... you get it by now.

Finding a specific work is not as easy as you might expect, but we've got some good resources for you to help you find it. First and foremost you have the incredibly knowledgeable staff of the Music & Media Center. All three, Doug, Vicky, and BJ, have music degrees and continue to perform regularly. Your music librarian (me! lisa) is also in the Music & Media Center and we are all available to help find your elusive piece of music. If you can't make it up to the Music & Media Center you can see if i'm available online via chat; just go to the Music Research Guide and see if i'm online. If you can't get into the library at the time, can't get a hold of me on chat, or quite simply don't feel like talking to us, then you can also check out our Score Search Tips which, coincidentally, also happens to be on the Music Research Guide.

For those of you interested in browsing the stacks to see what's we have that might be good for you, you can refer to our Score Browsing Guide.

Looking forward to seeing and working with all of you again this semester!

Anytime - Anywhere

Heading out of town for the summer or studying abroad in the fall and wondering how you'll survive without access to your amazing music collections at the library?  Don't worry! There are thousands of e-books, e-journals, e-scores, streaming sound, and streaming music & video that you can access at anytime from anywhere.

Our 10,000+ titles e-book collection covers all genres and time periods as well as music business and careers. Conduct a basic Catalog search with whatever musical term applies to your research subject or interest and add, in quotes, "electronic resource."

Journal articles! We have seven article databases dedicated solely to musical topics. You can find them on the Music Research Guide under the tab Databases - Articles. After clicking the database name you'll be prompted to log-in, just use your Tulane user name and password, the same one you use to log into any campus computers and your email.

We have nine databases full of streaming audio. Coverage includes classical music, jazz, blues, folk, new music, traditional and contemporary music, and so much more! You can also access all of these databases from the Music Research Guide under the tab Databases - Sound & Video. Just as the title implies, you'll also find three databases with music videos listed on this same page. Opera, dance, and ethnographic films related to music can all be found here.

Finally, music scores. We have four databases providing access to classical music of all genres as well as some rather fantastic sheet music collections. You'll find them in the same place you found articles and recordings. Go the the Music Research Guide and select the tab Databases - Scores.

Fantabulous CDs!!!!!

How about a little rumba with that Mozart or some electronica with your Wagner! Looking for some sounds to study or to keep you motivated during the final push to exams? We have it! The Music & Media Center is home to nearly 34,000 sound recordings. Our collections include music from all over the world, all genres, and all time periods. Because we have so many recordings it's hard to find them if they're put back in the wrong place - to make sure everything is where it should be our sound recordings are a closed stacks collection. In the end that's no so bad, all you have to do is give us the call number, we go find it and check it out to you. Here's what you need to do to get the call number:

Step 1: http://www.library.tulane.edu, Change the default search from SearchAll to Catalog.
Step 2: Change All Locations and Types to Sound Recordings.
Step 3: Enter a keyword in the search box. It could be a composer, a genre, an opus number (op. 13, for example), a performer, a country.
Step 4: Once you find the perfect recording copy down the call number that begins with M-CD.
Step 5: Smile and hand the call number and your Splash Card to one of the friendly folks in the Music & Media Center.
           Done!

Undergraduates can have up to 5 CDs out at a time, graduate students and faculty can have up to 7 CDs at a time.

If you still can't find the recording you're looking  for, stop by the Music & Media Center. We'll give it a go and if we can't find it in the collection we'll see about ordering it.

Videos, videos and more videos!!!

Did you know that we have nearly two thousand music videos in the the Music & Media Center? That's 2,000! In other words, thousands and thousands of hours worth of viewing and certainly nothing to sneeze at. I can hear a few folks saying, so what? A lot what, I'd say. Here's a list of just a few things you can do with all these films at your fingertips:

• Compare different performances of the same opera. No two performers will sing a part the same way. What makes one better than the other? Or what effects from the two can you combine to make an even better performance?
• Attend master classes from the exceptional! Including (but not limited to!) Lotte Lehman, Leonard Bernstein, Glenn Gould, the Borodin Quartet, and the Canadian Brass.
• Learn killer technique with the likes of William Pleeth (cello), Dr. John (New Orleans jazz), Wynton Marsalis (jazz trumpet), or Hadley Castille (Cajun swamp fiddling).
• Study costume stage, and lighting design.
• Learn about your favorite musicians and bands, such as The Beatles, Buena Vista Social Club, Quincy Jones, Elvis, Django Reinhardt, Karajan, etc.

This are just a few things you can do. You'll probably think of a lot more!

Ravel & Beethoven Facsimile Scores!

This month gets two Resources of the Month: facsimile scores of Ravel's Fugue in F minor and Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, op. 125. These aren't just any old score though. Take a look...



Ravel's Fugue in F minor was a student piece and until now it had remained safely stored away in the archives at Northwestern University Music Library. Through a fantastic combination of scholarship, musicianship, and ingenuity this piece was brought out of the archive, transcribed, performed, and published in a limited 500 edition run. In other words, even though this is published it's still not a piece that everyone can see - count yourself lucky!


So what is it, exactly, that we're so excited to make available to you? As i said already, this was a student piece written early in Ravel's career, before he lost the Prix de Rome and was, as a result, kicked out of the Paris Conservatory. This is such a student piece that the corrections and notes of Ravel's composition teacher stand out in colored pencil against Ravel's led pencil annotations. This publication includes a color facsimile (fancy speak for color photocopy) of the original score, a transcription of the work for four voices, the first and, to date, only recording of the work, and, last but not least, critical commentary and discussion of Ravel, the work, and the transcription process.

Needless to say, since this is a limited edition of a score published no where else, we want to be sure to keep it safe and accessible. The publication is located the rare score & book collection at the Music & Media Center. Bring the call number ML96.5 .R29 F8 2011 to a staff member in the Music & Media Center so we can pull it for you. Once you have it you can view the score at our long study table and listen to the recording on our top of the line listening equipment.

The second resource of the month is a facsimile score of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, op. 125. Just like the Ravel, this isn't just any score. Color images from Beethoven's original autograph score means you don't have to travel all the way to Berlin to study this amazing primary resource but can stay right here in good ol' New Orleans! Not only that, but you can see these high quality facsimile images, as if you're looking right at the real thing, and read critical commentary from three leading Beethoven scholars: Lewis Lockwood, Jonathan Del Mar, and Martina Rebmann. 40 pages worth of scholarly writing about the work translated into English, German, and Japanese! Just this writing alone is an excellent research paper resource. 

This one wasn't cheap though, and we want to keep it safe and available to research for a long time. To accomplish both of these goals this score, just like the Ravel, is housed in the rare books collection in the Music & Media Center. Give the call number ML96.5 .b44 op. 125 2010 to one of the folks working up there and we'll pull it out for you. We have a lovely study table, with electrical outlets, right next to the windows where you can settle in to take a look at the score. You can also use our listening station to listen to all 50 of our different recordings of Beethoven's Ninth while you peruse this amazing resource.

Play List!

Did you know you can create and save play lists in any streaming audio or video databases owned by Alexander Street Press (ASP)? This means you can create playlists of the music you want to hear be it classical, jazz, fado, gagaku, gospel or folk and listen to it whenever, where ever you want. Play lists are great for inspirational background music while you study and long waits in airports. If you're taking a music class you can create a playlist, share it with your friends, and quiz each other to help you prepare for exams. The possibilities are endless.

Here's how you do it....

Step 1: Access any one of our ASP databases by visiting the Music Research Guide and clicking on any of the databases under the Databases - Sound and Video Tab, or by searching for database names using the database search option on the library's homepage.

 Step 2: Once you're in the database of choice, sign in.

Step 3: Search for the music you want to listen to.When you hover the mouse of the piece you want to listen to, a blue circle with a plus appears on the right. Click the circle-plus to add it to a play list.You'll be asked whether you want to add it to an existing play list or a new one.

Step 4: Once you've named your play list and clicked save, you'll be redirected to a page displaying your new play list. From here it's just a matter of repeating steps 2 & 3 until you've completed your list!

Step 5: After you've completed your play list you have options to create a group so your friends can access the list, send the list to you mobile, or share a direct link.

Not only are these streaming audio/video databases a great resource, but they're great fun, too. Here's a complete list of Alexander Street Press databases that you can access via the library:

• American History in Video
• American Song
• Classical Music Library
• Contemporary World Music
• Dance in Video
• Ethnographic Video Online
• Jazz Music Library
• Opera in Video
• Smithsonian Global Sound
• Theatre in Video