Sheet Music

Sheet music as a music format is difficult to define. Some consider "sheet music" to be any printed music, some say only popular music counts, while others consider sheet music to be "the stuff in grandma's piano bench." In an effort to define sheet music, we offer two definitions, the first developed by the Music Library Association's Working Group on Sheet Music Cataloging, the second developed by members of the Digital Scriptorium project at Duke University.

BGSU's sheet music collection is maintained as part of the Sound Recordings Archives. The primary collecting focus is popular music, although a variety of genres are represented in the collection. Sheet music does not circulate outside the library, but may be used in the Music Library and Sound Recordings Archives. For assistance in accessing this collection, please check with a ML/SRA staff member.

Definition 1: Music Library Association, Working Group on Sheet Music Cataloging Guidelines, URL: http://www.lib.duke.edu/music/sheetmusic/glossary.html, last updated 1/20/96; last accessed 10/10/00.

Definition 2: Digital Scriptorium, Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library, Duke University. URL: http://scriptorium.lib.duke.edu/sheetmusic/, last accessed 10/10/00.