Saturday, September 19, 2009

Flat Stanley visted us!

Flat Stanley reads German
For those of you unfamiliar, Flat Stanley is a children's book.
"Stanley Lambchop...is given a bulletin board.... He hangs it on the wall over his bed, but during the night the board falls from the wall, flattening Stanley in his sleep. He survives and makes the best of his altered state, and soon he is entering locked rooms by sliding under the door, and playing with his younger brother by being used as a kite. Stanley even helps catch some art museum thieves by posing as a painting on the wall. But one special advantage is that Flat Stanley can now visit his friends by being mailed in an envelope." from wikipedia


Flat Stanley was sent to us by librarian Ashlie Conway's friend Luke who attends Kingston Elementary school in Kingston, TN. Ashlie gets to keep Flat Stanley for a week, show him around Columbia, then mail him back to Luke's classroom Tennessee. For Luke, this exercise will aid with reading by having him read the story. It'll also tie in art by having him make a paper "Flat Stanley." It'll also aid in reading, writing, and geography by reading Stanley's travel journal. But for the employees of the Music Library, having Flat Stanley around for a day was lots of fun!

Flat Stanley really liked the musical instruments we have in the Music Library.
Flat Stanley on the harp   Flat Stanley on the piano
(We normally don't let just anyone play on the instruments, but since Stanley is a VIP, we made an exception.)

Ashlie then took Stanley upstairs to see all the books and scores.
Flat Stanley in the scores
They pulled a book from the Educational Resource Center and read it.
Flat Stanley reading

Flat Stanley didn't know much about how people listened to music before radio and CDs were invented. Ashlie showed Stanley the Music Library's collection of 78 rpm recordings. She then explained how 78s later became LP or vinyl records. They even played one!
Flat Stanley learns about audio   Flat Stanley on the LP turntable


But the best thing Stanley did at the USC Music Library was find himself in the PASCAL online catalog:
Flat Stanley in the online catalog

Friday, September 18, 2009

How do you participate in social media?

Lots USC students that I know are on facebook. I see more and more turning to twitter. Myspace is still around, but seems to be an outgoing trend.

Which types of social media do you participate in? How do you feel about various University services participating in the social media realms? We want to hear from you-
leave your thoughts in the comments section!

While we're on the topic of social media, did you know that Columbia has it's own Social Media Club? The Social Media Club of Columbia meets once a month to provide ways to connect, educate, and build your personal and professional brands using social media. Visit their website at smccolumbia.com.

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Summertime!

Summer is officially half through, so I thought I'd pop in to let you know what we're doing at your USC Music Library!
Public PCs
The first exciting thing is that we've gotten six new computers equipped with Microsoft Office, media players, and PDF viewers for your use. We know that not all of you like using Mac computers, so we were finally able to get these PCs for your everyday use. The computers log in using your Blackboard login, but if you're not a USC student, we can help you get access. Also, another cool feature these computers have is a "shared desktop." That means you can start a paper at the Music Library, and when we close at 8:30 PM, you can go to Thomas Cooper Library's computer labs, log in there and finish the SAME paper! Cool, huh? You'll find these computers upstairs in the Music Library (3rd floor of the SOM), right at the top of the stairs.

The second thing we've been working on is our web pages. You'll now see a "Music Suggestions" box as well as a "Suggestions" box. The "Music Suggestions" go straight to the head librarian here at the Music Library. The other suggestions box comes automatically from Thomas Cooper Library, and anything put in that box goes to them. In addition to that, I've been working hard to clean up our special collections pages.

The third thing we've done is rearrange some things in the library. You'll now find tables with power strips in between the M and ML/MT stacks. We hope you'll bring your laptop, connect to the wifi, and take advantage of this space.

We've also gotten a MAJOR gift of CDs from a wonderful donor. This gift has doubled our CD collection. Once all the discs are processed, we'll have around 20,000 CDs for your listening pleasure!

As always, we're working to improve the library. We're currently hoping to get PCs to replace some of the audio equipment in our A/V carrels. More changes will come later this summer, but I can't give any details on that just yet.

In the meantime, if you need anything, just let one of us know. We're here to help.

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Reading Day

Today is reading day, and lots of you are here in the library studying away. Your mantra to get your through your last final is "it's almost summer!" The heat is practically here, the sun's shining, and summer is so close we can taste it!

In honor of summer, I thought I'd put a list of summer-themed scores, books, LPs, and CDs. Maybe they'll help make the time pass as you study.

Scores:
Three summer-beach sketches : H. 109 (1915)
Sowerby, Leo, 1895-1968.
M25 .S69 T4 1996

Summer song : clarinet solo
Karchin, Louis.
M72 .K38 S8 1996

Summer serenade : for bassoon and piano
Schickele, Peter.
M254.S34 S96 1993

Summer and smoke : opera in two acts
Hoiby, Lee.
M1503 .H707 S8 1976

Music for a summer evening (Makrokosmos III)
Crumb, George.
Oversize M485 .C78 M8

Summer song : for flute and piano
Green, Harold Bellman. 1921-
M 242 .G73 S9 1969

A Summer journal for piano, op. 19
Muczynski, Robert, 1929-
M25 .M83 op.19 1966

Summer music, for woodwind quintet. [Op. 31]
Barber, Samuel, 1910-1981.
M557 .B365 op.31 1957

Before and after summer, ten songs for baritone and piano,
Finzi, Gerald, 1901-1956.
M1621.F55 B4 1949

Summer day suite : (Music for children) for small orchestra : op. 65a
Prokofiev, Sergey, 1891-1953.
M1003.P76 S8

Clouds in summer ; B♭ clarinet solo with piano accompaniment
Hovey, Nilo W., 1906-
M 250 .H69 C56 1948

A song of summer.
Delius, Frederick, 1862-1934.
M1045.D45 S6

Les nuits d'été = Summer nights : op. 7 : complete song cycle in full score and vocal score
Berlioz, Hector, 1803-1869.
M1621.4 .B46 op.7 2003



Books:
My Indian summer : a second book of memories
White, Maude Valérie, 1855-
ML410.W64 A32

Molto agitato : the mayhem behind the music at the Metropolitan Opera
Fiedler, Johanna.
ML1711.8 .N3 M427 2001

The book of music and nature : an anthology of sounds, words, thoughts
ML3845 .B614 2001 and Compact disc 5976

Sounds of reform : progressivism and music in Chicago, 1873-1935
Vaillant, Derek.
ML3917.U6 V35 2003

Searching for the sound : my life with the Grateful Dead
Lesh, Phil, 1940-
ML 419 .L43 A3 2005

Grit, noise, and revolution : the birth of Detroit rock 'n' roll
Carson, David, 1949-
ML 3534 .C34 2005

Haunted heart : a biography of Susannah McCorkle
Dahl, Linda, 1949-
ML 420 .M34118 D34 2006




CDs and LPs:
Cool summer Jazziz on disc. Compact disc 3877

Jazziz on disc. Cool summer, volume 2. Compact disc 4732

Jazziz on disc. cool summer, [vol.] 5. Compact disc 8109

Summer tale Fantastic scherzo.
Suk, Josef, 1874-1935. Compact disc 6482

The last song of summer Romantic music for 'cello and organ.
Moline, Donald. Compact disc 2863

Knoxville, summer of 1915.
Upshaw, Dawn. Compact disc 640

Endless summer.
Beach Boys. Sound Recording (LP) 16851

In a summer garden; music of Frederick Delius. Sound Recording (LP) 7741

Songs for a summer night. Sound Recording (LP) 9188

Summer aria and Spring aria from Tale for a deaf ear.
Bucci, Mark.
Sound Recording (LP) 7217

Summer music, op. 31.
Barber, Samuel, 1910-1981.
Sound Recording (LP) 121




Stop by the library when you get time and to say bye before you head out for the summer. In case we miss you, hope you have a very fun and super safe summer. Don't forget to reapply your sunscreen!
akc

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Women's History Month

March is Women's History Month. To celebrate, here are a few items by women composers or performers available at the Music Library:


Ammer, Christine. Unsung: A History of Women in American Music.
ML82 .A45


Block, Adrienne, and Carol Neuls-Bates, comps and eds. Women in American Music: A Bibliography of Music and Literature.
ML128 .W7 B6


Borgerding, Todd, ed. Gender, Sexuality, and Early Music.
ML3838 .G373 2002


Bowers, Jane, and Judith Tick, eds. Women Making Music: The Western Art Tradition, 1150-1950.
ML82 .W67 1985


Cohen, Aaron. International Encyclopedia of Women Composers.
REF ML105 .C7 1987 v. 1 and v. 2


Frasier, Jane. Women Composers: A Discography.
REF ML156.4 .W6 F7 1983


Fuller, Sophie. The Pandora Guide to Women Composers: Britain and the United States 1629-Present.
REF ML390 .F94 1994


Heinrich, Adel, comp. Organ and Harpsichord Music by Women Composers: An Annotated Catalog.
REF ML128.O6 O73 1991


Hensel, Fanny Mendelssohn, and Susan Gritton. Lieder. CD. 2000.
Compact Disc 4221


Hensel, Fanny Mendelssohn. Klavierwerke. CD. 1987.
Compact Disc 1629


LaMay, Thomasin, ed. Musical Voices of Early Modern Women: Many-Headed Melodies.
ML82 .M798 2005


MacAuslan, Janna, and Kristan Aspen, comps. Guitar Music by Women Composers: An Annotated Catalog.
ML128 .G8 M33 1997


Meggett, Joan, comp. Keyboard Music by Women Composers: A Catalog and Bibliography.
ML128 .H35 M43



Oliveros, Pauline. Deep Listening. CD. 2007.
Compact Disc 4167


Pendle, Karin, ed. Women & Music: A History.
ML82 .W6 1991


Stern, Susan. Women Composers: A Handbook.
REF ML105 .S7


Tower, Joan. Silver Ladders; Island Prelude: For Solo Oboe and String Orchestra; Music for cello and Orchestra; Sequoia. CD. n.d.
Compact Disc 3220


Tower, Joan. Black Topaz. CD. 1995.
Compact Disc 1656


Walker-Hill, Helen. From Spirituals to Symphonies: African-American Women Composers and Their Music.
ML390 .W16 2002


Women of Note. CD. 1997
Compact Disc 2596

Special thanks to Amy Edmonds and Music Library student employee Abby!

Thursday, February 26, 2009

African American History Month

The Music Library has tons of sources on African American musical history.
Click this link for a selection of items in our catalog, or visit the Jazz or Hip Hop LibGuides.


The Music Library's Digital Sheet Music Project Site also has many pieces of African American-related sheet music digitized, some from the mid-1800s.

As always, please let us know if we can assist you in any way!

Friday, January 30, 2009

Super Bowl Sunday!

In honor of this weekend's Super Bowl, here are some football-related items from our catalog:

Kick off, U. S. A.! [Sound recording]
Columbia Music Sound Recordings 7016

Touchdown! [sound recording]
Columbia Music Sound Recordings 11279

Gridiron pageantry; the story of the marching band for bandsmen, directors and football fans.
by Charles Boardman Righter
Columbia Music Library MT733.R38 G7

Football marches [sound recording]
Columbia Music Sound Recordings 7565

How to arrange and rehearse football band shows
By Carrol M. Butts
Columbia Music Library MT733.4 .B88











Steelers photo courtesy of Sister72
Cardinals photo courtesty of Dru Bloomfield