Re: record research

[Joel Bresler <jbresler...>]

Hi, Linda. This was very helpful, thanks! Let me add a few more points on
researching discs. 

Current Recordings Only 

Most online vendors use the same vendor for their product and fulfillment
(Valley Media, formerly Valley Records, in the Sacramento, CA area.) So
most will carry exactly the same product. You will quickly get diminishing
returns at the mainstream sites. Muse publishes a separate music database,
available in kiosk form in many stores (and it's also being used by some of
the online retailers, but I can't remember which ones. In any event, they
will surely strip out the recordings they don't carry!)

Current and Out of Print recordings

Robert mentioned the "All Music Guide", which should be part of any search.
I have found its Jewish coverage to be really spotty, though.

Linda mentioned the OCLC, and I believe that all of their music records
have been gathered together into a SilverPlatter CD ROM. It is just great
to have the database local - snappier response, better searching tools,
etc. Best of all, if you have a long list of targets (for example, all 600
or so records with "Sephard*") you can stream the data off to a floppy disc
and search it comfortably at home.

Aside from the OCLS, you will want to look up entries up in the Research
Libraries Group service, Eureka. (Usually need a university affiliation to
get to it online, but it's in good libraries for patron or reference-desk
assisted searches.) Eureka includes the Rigler Deutsch Index, listing
600,000 78s of all stripes. Included in the RDI is the magnificent Stambler
collection of Jewish music at the New York Public Library. 

Then if you start to get really thorough (or obsessive?) you can start to
research the overseas libraries, such as the British Library, etc.
Increasingly they are online.

Hope this helps,

Joel

At 03:00 PM 2/16/99 -0500, you wrote:
>Some of this depends on whether you are only interested in information
>about the piece (whether it was recorded, by whom, etc.), and perhaps where
>you may listen to it, or whether you actually want to own it.
>
>Here's a summary of the general procedures music librarians follow.  For
>discographic information about whether the piece has ever been recorded,
>you could check all of the sources you mention.  In addition, you would
>want to check WorldCat (the public database version of OCLC).   You could
>also search Tower Records, CDNow, etc. online. Depending on the specific
>piece, you could also check various bibliographies and discographies
>devoted to specific topics and/or composers.  What you look for is the
>recording company label and number and the date of release.
>
>If you decide you want the piece, then where you found the information (and
>the date) will be important.  If it's in Schwann or one of the online
>vendors, then it's probably available in a record store of through the
>online vendor.  If you found it only in a bibliography/discography or in
>WorldCat, then it may no longer be available for sale.  So you could try
>the OP market, used record sales, etc.  
>
>You could also go to a record jobber - they'd be able to tell you whether
>it's currently available and whether they can get it.  Jobbers include
>Parnassus as you mentioned, Audio Buff in Ohio, Rhinebeck Records in NY,
>Gary Thal in NYC, etc.  Some are advertised in the Music Library
>Association's journal, NOTES.  The Association for Recorded Sound
>Collections' Journal and Newsletter would also have more information.  In
>fact, you could place an ad for something you want in their newsletter.
>
>Hope this helps.
>Linda Blotner
>
>*******************************
>Linda Solow Blotner
>Head, Hartt Library
>University of Hartford
>West Hartford, CT 06117
>phone: 860-768-4492
>fax:   860-768-5295
>email: blotner (at) mail(dot)hartford(dot)edu
>********************************
>
>
>


Joel Bresler
250 E. Emerson Rd.
Lexington, MA 02420 USA

Home:   781-862-2432
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