Page Contents 4 minute read.
The UNT Music Library houses a broad spectrum of media types across all genres of music, from books to film, video, audio recordings, scores, periodicals, and digital materials. In addition to the main circulating collection, the Music Library holds nearly 200 special and archival collections.
Circulating Collections
The Music Library circulates music scores, audio recordings (music CDs, LPs of various sizes and RPMs, etc.), video recordings, and books about music. This collection serves to support students, faculty/staff, and community members in their curricular and research needs.
Discovering Circulating Collections
Many music scores and books are available for browsing on the 4th floor of Willis Library. However, much of the collection is located in our remote storage; these and items at Willis Library may be requested through the online catalog.
The library offers some tips on searching in our Discover online catalog, including how to search, use the filters, and request items for pickup.
Borrowing from Circulating Collections
Music materials from the circulating collections may be checked out. Read our circulation policies for more information on loan periods, renewals, checkout limits, and other details.
If you see a gap in the Music Library’s collection that you would like to see filled, feel free to make a purchase request.
Special Collections
Music Special Collections include cataloged rare materials and artifacts, as well as archival collections reflecting the activities of a person, family, or corporate body. Our holdings represent a collecting history that has paralleled the strengths of the College of Music in jazz, music theory and history, music faculty research areas, and performance, as well as more recent, focused collections in local music and contemporary composers.
Discovering Special Collections
Our special collections are most easily found using the Music Library’s finding aids. These aids provide inventories of archival collections, including information about how materials are arranged and who contributed to creating a collection. You may browse these by title, creator/collector, or subject, and one can limit by date or material type
Rare and fragile books and scores are housed in the Sandborn Collection and can be found by searching the online catalog by author, title, publisher, and more.
Requesting and Using Special Collections
Request access to special materials using the Aeon system within finding aids or in the online catalog. In filling out the form, you will be given an opportunity to indicate when you will be on site to use the materials; please let us know when you intend to be here so that we can have them ready for you.
Contact our Music Special Collections Librarian for help navigating and requesting access to collections.
UNT College of Music Collections
The UNT Libraries house both performance and administrative records for the College of Music.
Audio and Video
If you’re looking for concert or recital recordings from UNT’s College of Music, they should be available at one of two places:
Recordings from performances in the most recent two years are available from the College of Music’s Recording Services to individuals with a current UNT ID.
After roughly two years, recordings and videos of CoM performances become available in UNT’s Digital Library Many of our legacy recordings are not yet digitized, so please contact our Sound Preservationist for access to older recordings that you don’t find in the Digital Library. Selected titles are available to stream from anywhere; most other digitized recordings in this collection are available to stream only by UNT ID holders or users on campus. Those who are looking for a copy of their own recital recordings from earlier decades should check in with our Sound Preservationist.
Concert and Recital Programs
Programs from past performances are also available in the Digital Library. They are grouped by academic year and available for browsing by any users.
Institutional Records
UNT’s Special Collections department houses extensive administrative records relating to the College of Music, including photographs, newspaper articles, pamphlets, yearbooks, and more. Consult these materials in the Digital Library or use Special Collections’ finding aids to find materials that you can use in person. Read more about using these materials on the University Archive’s site.
Digital Collections
Some of the Music Library’s special collections have been digitized; access to these is provided via the UNT’s Digital Library. Priorities for digitization are made based on research needs, condition of materials, and copyright status. You can also discover digitized materials related to specific collections in some of our finding aids.
