Library Services
How to Locate Music
Sacramento Public Library carries music in a number of formats, including print, cassette, and compact disc. Circulating books on music and music scores are shelved together on the 4th floor at Central Library. Recordings are located on the 1st floor, as well as in Kids' Place.
Catalog Search:
Use the online catalog to search for musical materials.
- Example: Search by Subject
"Songs – Indexes"
"Popular Music - United States – Discography"
"Operas – Librettos"
- Example: Search by Keyword
"Coltrane"
"zydeco"
You may wish to narrow your search results. To do so, click on the "Limit/Sort Search" button on the screen. To limit your search to CDs or cassettes, choose "Material Type": "Music CD" or "Music Cassette." Or, click on "System Sorted" and change it to "Year," and the most recently published items will be listed first.
Card Indexes:
- The Song Index is an in-house title index to Sheet Music Magazine and the reference songbooks found on the 2nd floor at Central Library.
- The Sheet Music Index (in the same card file cabinet) indexes the Central Library reference sheet music collection. (Please ask for help.)
Discographies:
- The Billboard Book of Number One Albums R781.63 R813
- The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits R781.64016 W579b3
- The Record Shelf Guide to Classical CDs and Audio Cassettes R780.266 S968
- All Music Guide R780.266 A416
- Fanfare Magazine (Central Library, 3rd floor)
Internet:
- To locate song lyrics, you can use a search engine such as Google. Type the song title in quotation marks, along with the word "lyrics" in the search box. You can also locate information about a musical group or performer by typing the name, e.g. "San Francisco Symphony."
- AllMusic is a helpful music-related website for finding information on performers, discographies, etc.
- Billboard.com is a helpful site for locating information regarding Top 40 music. It includes news and information about the music business, as well as videos, reviews, and fashion.
- Classical.net covers classical music. It includes information about composers by timelines, chronology, and lists of works. It also has books and scores, as well as reviews. Links to other music sites can be found here.
- California Library Systems Cooperative Song Index contains over 180,000 song titles from over 2000 collections of sheet music. It is indexes the collection of the California Library Reference Center. It is maintained by the San Joaquin Valley Information Services.
- Lester S. Levy Collection of Sheet Music is a collection of over 29,000 pieces of sheet music that spans the time between 1780 and 1980, with a concentration on 19th century popular music, and music dealing with military conflicts. The collection was donated to Johns Hopkins University by Lester S. Levy.
Music Pamphlet File:
This is a collection of uncataloged circulating music materials. It includes beginning instructional guides for various instruments, songbooks, opera librettos, and other miscellaneous sheet music. This material, organized alphabetically by subject, is located in a large file cabinet near the sheet music collection at the Central Library on the 2nd floor and may be checked out on the 1st floor.
Print Indexes:
Most subject indexes contain abbreviated source citations. The key to these abbreviations is generally found in the front of an index and will identify the full titles of the books cited. To see if a cited title belongs to Sacramento Public Library, search the online catalog. Suggested subject indexes:
- Find That Tune: An Index to Rock, Folk-rock, Disco & Soul in Collections R784.540016 F494
- Popular Song Index and Supplements R784.016 H388
Sheet Music Outlets:
- Kline Music
2200 Sutterville Road
Sacramento, CA 95822
(916) 456-8742
http://www.klinemusic.com - Northridge Music
Center
7871 Greenback Lane
Citrus Heights, CA 95610
(916) 969-4728
http://www.northridgemusic.com/ - Watermelon Music
207 E Street
Davis, CA 95616
(530) 758-9300
http://www.watermelonmusic.com
Sheet Music Library:
- Bagaduce Music Lending Library
5 Music Library Lane, PO Box 829
Blue Hill, ME 04614
(207) 374-5454
http://www.bagaducemusic.org

