Sibley Music Library

03/06/2026

We recently re-discovered the SML Suggestion Book that was used to allow people to comment on various library issues (often anonymously). The earliest pages are from 1987 (before we even moved in to our present building). The commentary runs the gamut from the predictable ("why can't people be quiet," "why is it so cold," "about those copiers...") to the interesting, such as this question from 1990:

Why are the majority of volumes in the library brown? Brown, brown, brown! Rochester's winters are bad enough!

Our former Conservator and Head of Special Collections, Ted Honea, wrote a response:

Believe it or not...the dreadful color you allude to was once the "official" color of SML, chosen back in the age of Barbara Duncan [SML's first professional librarian] because it didn't show dirt. (I'm not making this up.) Under Ruth Watanabe [the second director of SML] the color was abandoned because of its lugubrious affect, but not until the 70's, I believe.

12/12/2025

Good luck to everyone during finals. Just a reminder: Sibley will close at noon on December 18, and will not reopen until Monday, January 5. Enjoy the break!

12/02/2025

You never know what you'll find reading the print copies in Sibley's stacks. Thanks to our friends at RIPM for finding this one.

A former reader having a dialogue with the musical news column.

From The Concordia (Chicago, 1867), original copy held by the Sibley Library at the Eastman School of Music.

10/21/2025

We are happy to announce that we now have an online subscription to all of the Oxford Handbooks in music. Each Oxford Handbook offers an authoritative and state-of-the-art survey of current thinking and research. Specially commissioned essays from leading international figures in the discipline give critical examination of the progress and direction of debates, providing scholars and students with compelling new perspectives. With new topics added, current essays updated, and chapters published online before print publication, you can be certain that you are accessing the most current information you need for your research.

Each handbook can be accessed by searching in DiscoverSML.

10/06/2025

Hands on demos of VR, courtesy of our colleagues in Studio X, Thursday October 16, 2:30-3:30.

04/29/2025

Did you notice that we've extended our hours during the Reading Days:
Saturday 1-9
Sunday 1-11
Monday 8-11

Good luck to everyone during finals!

04/17/2025

Sibley Music Library is pleased to announce the first of the Sibley Sessions series, to be held Friday, April 25 from 3-4 PM in the library’s Alec Wilder Reading Room. Titled “Modal Madness,” it will feature works written and performed by members of Christine Jenkins’ Jazz Composition class, composed in modal-jazz style. The musicians are: Wyatt Pepper (trumpet), Juan Suis Ruiz (alto saxophone) Garnet Müller (trombone), Sam Chandler (piano), Brendan Nie ( bass), and Sam Schaeffer (drums). Refreshments will be available.

Sibley encourages all to attend and enjoy this performance, and to explore the library’s rich collections!

04/17/2025

04/03/2025

Would you like to enhance your skills in Excel, Python, OpenRefine (a data cleaning tool), and reproducibility? Would you like to learn how you can share your research in the University of Rochester Research Repository (URRR)? The Data Skills Workshop Series, taking place throughout the month of April, will teach you all these skills and more. Hosted by UR Libraries Data Services, feel free to contact us with any data questions you may have!

The Data Skills Workshops are:
• Data Skills: Visualize with Python on April 10, 2025, 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM
• Data Skills: Reproducible Code and Data Workflows on April 16, 2025, 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
• Data Skills: Cleaning Messy Data with OpenRefine on April 22, 2025, 11:00 AM - 12:15 PM
• Data Skills: Excel Efficiency on April 24, 2025, 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM
• Data Skills: Sharing Your Research with URRR on April 30, 2025, 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM

More information at

This guide provides resources on research data management and sharing.

03/07/2025

We are aware of the current problem getting to Oxford Music Online, and are working to resolve the situation. We apologize for the problem and will post again once it is fixed.

01/19/2025

Come join the UR Libraries as we celebrate our love of data! Check out all the webinars and panels we are offering (Link In Bio) through the month of February:⁠
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- Love Data: Metadata and Documentation⁠
* February 3rd, 2025, 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM, Zoom⁠
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- Love Data: Persistent Identifiers in Academic Networks - the ORCID Advantage⁠
* February 5th, 2025, 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM, Zoom⁠
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- Love Data: In 3D - XR for Data Visualization⁠
* February 7th, 2025, 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM, In-Person in Studio X in Carlson Library⁠
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- Love Data: Mapping the Past with QGIS⁠
* February 11th, 2:00 PM - 3:15 PM, Hybrid in Carlson 103⁠
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- Live Data: Visualizing Data in Special Collections⁠
* February 12th, 2025 from 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM, In-Person in Plutzik Library⁠
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- Love Data: NSF and DOE's Public Access Plans⁠
* February 13th, 2025 from 3:30 PM - 5:00 PM, Hybrid in POA Library⁠
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- Love Data: 3D Data in VISTA⁠
* February 17th, 2025 from 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM, In-Person in VISTA Collaboratory in Carlson Library⁠
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- Love Data: Ethics and Governance Perspectives from Data Stewards⁠
* February 18th, 2025, 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM, Zoom⁠
* Panelists: Regina Bradley, Travis Desell, Jon Herington, and Beth Prince-Bradbury⁠
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- Love Data: Measuring Cultural Impact with Community-Based Research⁠
* February 21st, 2025, 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM, Zoom⁠
* Panelists: Jordan Ealey, Nick Robertson, Cherice Hill, Jeffery Burnette, and Karma Frierson⁠
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- Love Data: Git Good with Data - Workshop for Version Control⁠
*February 26th, 2025 from 12:30 PM - 2:00 PM, Zoom⁠
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- Love Data: Spot the Robot - Recognizing the AI-Generated A/V Material⁠
*February 27th, 2025, 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM, Zoom⁠
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To find the links to the events and to learn more about Love Data Month 2025, check out our website: https://libguides.lib.rochester.edu/lovedata⁠
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