Finding journal articles in music is basically a two-step process. A third step is required only if the first two steps are unsuccessful:

1. Use a music periodical index to find article citations, making sure to record important information, such as author, article title, publication dates, pages, and especially journal title or source.
2. Use OskiCat or MELVYL library catalog to find whether the Music Library has a given source or journal title cited (if you did not use a UC eLink directly from the article database to search for a copy of the journal).
3. If the desired journal is not on the shelf at UCB or available online request the item from Interlibrary Borrowing Services or get help from a reference librarian.

The Berkeley Music Library offers three major online article indexes devoted to current music periodical literature and one retrospective index. These indexes differ greatly, from the sources or journal titles covered to the way they describe and index article citations. Because each index has an area of relative strength—Music Index Online, for example, is strongest in the field of music education, IIMP in performance topics, and RILM Abstracts of Music Literature in musicology—thorough research often involves checking more than one when looking for article citations. Further information about these indexes, as well as the retrospective index, RIPM, is available at the Music Library page on Search Indexes for Articles and Music Literature.

Searching music indexes available at UCB will generate citation lists indicating what has been published or what is generally available; they will not tell you if articles are available specifically at UCB. Citations simply provide the information you need in order to find the articles in the UCB library and later, in your writing, lead others to the work you use. Citations may contain many kinds of information about an article, including a summary or abstract; make sure to record at least the author, article title, and journal title or source. The following citation from RILM, for example, was one of a handful obtained in a keyword search for articles on settings of odes by Horace. The first three lines of the record, especially Source, contain the essential information needed to find the article.

Often, music article indexes will contain UC eLinks that can be used to locate sources of printed or electronic copies of the desired article and complete your search. If you simply jot down the article citation and exit the index you will need to continue on to Step 2.

Not all journal titles that are available online in full-text will have a catalog record indicating so; Cambridge Opera Journal and Musica disciplina are two such cases. Before going out to the shelves to find an item in print you might then first check the Berkeley Music Library Table of Online, Full-Text Music Journals, which gathers information concerning online availability from a number of sources, to see if the article is available from the desktop.

If you find an article from a source that is unavailable at the UCB library you should then request the material via Interlibrary Borrowing Services. Forms for requesting items from another library, articles as well as books, are available at the Music Library reference desk or, preferably, online using the Interlibrary Borrowing Services Request Form. Items requested from another library must be picked up at the office of Interlibrary Borrowing Services, Room 133, Doe Library, after you have been notified it is available. Interlibrary borrowing services are free to UCB students, faculty, and staff.

If you have problems or questions collecting or locating information from periodicals please do not hesitate to call the Music Library reference desk at 642-2624 or stop by for a consultation.