Mount A Libraries: MUSC 1201: Introduction to Western Art Music History: Books

Finding resources: Books

Are all books created equal?

When it comes to research in university, not always! Usually, you will be looking for what we call a scholarly book. What's the difference?

Scholarly books are meant to disseminate research and foster academic discussion in a field of study. They are meant for academic study and research and are usually published by university or academic presses.
Non-scholarly books provide surface-level examination of a topic and are not rigorous in their research. They are frequently non-authoritative (not written by experts) and are written broadly to inform rather than present research or critical advancement of a field.

Luckily, most of the books we have here at Mount Allison are considered scholarly, but it is always important to think critically about the books and other sources you find and if they are appropriate for your task at hand,

Want a more in-depth exploration of the differences between scholarly and non-scholarly sources? Check out the chart on this page put together by the University of Toronto Scarborough Library.

Physical vs. eBooks?

We have a fantastic collection of approximately 11,000 books on the shelves in the Music Library, but did you know we have more than double that number of books available electronically as well?

When looking for books in the library, browsing the shelves is great but don't limit yourself to just our physical collection otherwise you might be missing out on some great information!

The best way to search both our physical books and ebooks is using Novanet! Check out the slides below and use the arrows to advance through each step.

When searching Novanet, keyword searching is a good way to start, but experiment with some filters! For example, you can use a subject search by changing the filter at the start of each search line. Think of subject searching like hashtags and a way to narrow in more quickly on a specific topic.

From the Library homepage, click the Advanced Search link below the Novanet search box.

To search for books we have here at MtA, click the option for Mount Allison in the top search criteria. We can search and request books from other Novanet libraries, but to keep the search results manageable, start at Mount Allison and branch out if you can't find what you need.

Change the Material Type filter to books.

You can enter search term you like to find books: let's try Mozart. You can use the filters at the start of the search line to make a more precise search, like for author, title, or subject.

This search gave us 2,159 results. On the left side are filters which you can use to limit the search, like by availability or location. The list of results gives us the title, author, and date for each book along with the availability. For physical books, this will be the location and call number (where to find it in the library) and for ebooks it will provide a link to the book online.

Clicking on the title or the availability will open the record for the book with more information. This book has both a physical copy in the library and an ebook copy, so both options are showing. This won't always be the case, as sometimes we have only one format or the other. If you scroll down, there are more details about the book.

The details section gives more information about the book, like publication information. It can also show a description of what the book is about and the contents to help you assess if the book is a good fit for your purpose.