Encyclopedias and Dictionaries
Scholarly encyclopedias and dictionaries provide background information on your topic as well as details. They can also help you identify additional sources and research ideas.
- Oxford Music OnlineAn encyclopedia for all things musical - provides the ability to search several key music reference sources like The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians.
Books and ebooks
While the Library's physical collections are currently closed, roughly half of USU Libraries' print collection is now accessible through the HathiTrust digital library. To access as a USU user, please see our detailed instructions for logging in and using the collection.
You can use the USU library catalog to find books and ebooks on your topic by selecting the appropriate Material Type (in Advanced Search) for the resource you are looking for:
We can mail books from the library collection to your home. We can also provide scans of book chapters (one per book) regardless of if we have it in our collection. Both of these services are free, and requests can be made via InterLibrary Loan.
Scholarly articles
RILM is the top database for music research, though JSTOR and Historical Abstracts can also be useful tools.
- RILM Abstracts of Music LiteratureA music-specific database, RILM contains scholarly articles, dissertations, book chapter information, and more. Click the blue arrow icon to learn more about how to use RILM.
- JSTORMultidisciplinary journal collection, including the social sciences, humanities, and sciences.
- Historical AbstractsWorld history and culture citation-and-abstract database. Dates of coverage run from 1450 to the present. The database includes citations to publications from around the world in more than 50 languages relating to world history fields such as: diplomatic history, economic history, intellectual history, social history, cultural history, military history, political history, history of religion, and the history of science and technology.
Tip:
Need the PDF/full-text?
Use Article Linker to search for full-text across all databases. If the article isn't available, choose Request via ILLiad or use interlibrary services to request a copy from another library.
Dissertations
Dissertations can be long and overwhelming documents, but they can also be very useful research tools. They can help you not only understand your topic and its background, but they also contain lengthy reference lists you can use to find other sources.
- ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global (Digital Dissertation Abstracts)Includes over 1 million full-text dissertations and 3 million searchable citations. The collection is international in scope and has some coverage as far back as the 17th century.
Your Librarian
Set up your InterLibrary Loan account
Set up your account here so you can quickly and easily request article PDFs, chapter scans, and books we don't have in the USU Libraries collection.
