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Where the most Inspired Musicians
become the most Inspiring Music Teachers

VanderCook College of Music

Research

Research Guides

Searching Ruppel Library's Catalog

Begin your research by searching Horizon, Ruppel Library’s online catalog. Here you will find books, scores, sound recordings and other materials on your topic.

Searching Other Libraries for Inter-Library Borrowing

If you are unable to locate an item you are looking for in the Ruppel Library Catalog, you can expand your search to libraries all around the U.S. by using WorldCat, where you can perform a search similar to that used in the Ruppel Library Catalog.  The link to WorldCat is located on the main library web page. 

Finding Articles in Periodicals and Magazines

You can find articles in magazines and journals by searching in one or more of several Periodical Indexes. If your topic is related to MUSIC, you may want to start with MPD – the Music Periodical Database.  MPD provides access to citations and full text articles for a wide variety or music journals from around the world.  The link for MPD can be found on the main library web page.  

If your subject is of a less specific nature, you may want to start with WorldCat and select from a range of database options – for more information on this, please see “Locating Journal Articles in WorldCat” in the following link

VanderCook also subscribes to all NAfME publications, and direct links for these can be found on the main library web page.  

Where to go after you have the citation

Some online periodical indexes will offer Full-Text of the articles you need. You can print these, save them to disk, email them to yourself, or read the articles online. If full text is not available for your citation, submitting an interlibrary loan request is usually the easiest next step.  You may also email your citation to the librarian, who can quickly determine the best option for accessing your article.

Searching the Internet

Internet search engines such as Yahoo and Google are definitely useful but may not be the best places to start your Internet searching since they will overload you with unevaluated search results. Rather than using search terms that describe your question, use what you know about the world of information and search for the source whose information you would trust.

Try one of these music education links compiled and evaluated by a VanderCook Music Librarian.

Evaluating World Wide Web Information: A Checklist

Unlike print resources which have gone through a selection process before entering the library’s collection, information on the World Wide Web is mostly unfiltered. The following checklist provides a starting point for evaluating information found on the World Wide Web.

Authority

Accuracy

Objectivity

Currency

Content

Structure

Citing web resources

The MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing (REF PN 147.G53 1998) is a good reference for citing web resources. See examples beginning on page 211.

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The mission of VanderCook College of Music is to enrich the lives of present and future generations by developing uniquely skilled music teachers who exhibit strong character, professionalism, and a commitment to excellence.

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