Reference sources can include many different types of materials, but normally what they do is to help provide factual information, broad overviews, or help point you to other helpful resources. Any time you are investigating an unfamiliar topic or looking to answer the who, what, where, when, and why of a question, reference sources are a great place to start!
There are common reference sources that you will find in almost every library, and we have some which are more specialized for music research. Take a look below to compare and think about how you might use each reference source.
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Mount Allison only has one major online music reference resource but it's an important one! It is also the one you will be asked to search as part of your MUSC 1201 assignment.
Grove Music Online is an authoritative resource for music research with over 51,000 articles written by nearly 9,000 scholars charting the diverse history, theory, and cultures of music around the globe. Grove is often considered the gold standard for music encyclopedias, so it is a great place to look to get background information on a topic.
We also have the full 29 Volume set of the Grove Dictionary of Music & Musicians in our reference collection if you would like to search old school, but usually the online searching is quicker and easier.