Introduction: Library Databases for Music and Interdisciplinary Research
This page contains information about the major databases for music literature, as well as other interdisciplinary and subject-specific databases that may be useful for your research. For more database options, please see the instructions provided in this guide for using the libraries' A-Z Databases tool.
Music Databases
- RILM Abstracts of Music Literature This link opens in a new window
RILM (Repertoire International de Litterature Musicale) Abstracts provides citations and abstracts of articles in music periodicals, conference proceedings, books, bibliographies, catalogs, dissertations, Festschriften, and iconographies. Thousands of journals in hundreds of languages are indexed.
- Music Index This link opens in a new window
Provides citations to articles on topics such as history of music, forms and types of music (including popular music), history of musical instruments, including computer produced music. Also included are book reviews, record reviews, first performances, and obituaries.
- Music Periodicals Database This link opens in a new window
Provides indexing and abstracts for international music periodicals from multiple countries, plus some full text. Most of the included records are from the most recent ten years of publication. Covers music education, performance, ethnomusicology, musical theatre, theory, popular music forms, composition, etc.
- Rock's Backpages This link opens in a new window
This database of rock journalism includes articles and reviews, fully searchable by artist, genre, writer, or keyword. Also included are audio interviews with rock musicians.
General Databases
- JSTOR This link opens in a new window
Images of the full text of many scholarly titles in a range of subject areas, including literature, biological sciences, economics, finance, and statistics. Search the archive or pull up a specific article. Artstor is now available on the JSTOR platform.
- Project MUSE This link opens in a new window
Project MUSE provides full-text access scholarly journals in the humanities and social sciences. The database is a collaboration between Johns Hopkins University and other university presses and not-for-profit publishers. Also included are the UPCC collections in Asian and Pacific Studies, and Poetry, Fiction and Creative Non-Fiction.
- Arts & Humanities Citation Index This link opens in a new window
Arts & Humanities Citation Index is a multidisciplinary database covering the journal literature of the arts and humanities. It indexes many of the world's leading arts and humanities journals, as well as covering individually selected, relevant items from major science and social science journals. Coverage: 1985-present
A-Z Databases
Looking for another database?
The libraries' A-Z Database list is an excellent resource for identifying appropriate databases for your research. This tool gives you the option to view the libraries' databases by subject, database type, and publisher. If you have a specific database or keyword in mind, you can enter this information in the search bar. To find databases on a specific subject, click the arrows next to "All Subjects" to view the options.
Scout
- ScoutScout is a powerful search tool that can be used to find both print and electronic resources. Scout simultaneously searches the libraries' catalog, databases, electronic collections, streaming media, and much more.
Communication and Media Databases
- Communication Source This link opens in a new window
Communication Source merges EBSCOs Communication & Mass Media Complete database with content from Communication Abstracts, providing comprehensive indexing and full-text coverage of literature covering communication, linguistics, rhetoric and discourse, speech-language pathology, media studies and related fields.
- Communications and Mass Media (Gale OneFile) This link opens in a new window
Gale OneFile: Communications and Mass Media Collection offers full-text access to peer-reviewed journals, trade journals, magazines, newsletters, and videos covering various aspects of the communications
Art and Architecture Databases
- Art & Architecture Complete This link opens in a new window
This database provides full-text coverage of periodicals and books covering art and architecture. In addition, it offers cover-to-cover indexing and abstracts for academic journals, magazines and trade publications. The database also provides selective coverage for an Image Collection provided by Picture Desk and others.
- Oxford Grove Art Online This link opens in a new window
Oxford Art Online offers access to Grove Art Online, the Encyclopedia of Aesthetics, The Oxford Companion to Western Art, and The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art Terms, as well as many specially commissioned articles and bibliographies available exclusively online.
InterLibrary Loan (ILL)
If an item is not available at the University of Alabama libraries, you may request it through ILLiad, our InterLibrary Loan system. Visit the libraries' ILLiad page and login with your myBama username and password to make a request.