Happy Halloween from the ML/SRA!

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New Streaming Audio Databases

The University Libraries now subscribe to two separate databases of streamed audio content. Using these resources, BG students, faculty, and staff will be able to listen to streamed versions of recordings without visiting the Music Library and Sound Recordings Archives (although, of course, we still want you to visit to use all of our other resources!). Both of these databases provide the convenience of streamed audio without the risk of copyright infringement.

Naxos Music Library includes all of the Naxos, Marco Polo, and Dacapo catalogues, as well as recordings from several other labels. Altogether, the holdings currently consist of over 150,000 tracks from over 10,000 CDs, with approximately 35 new releases added each month. Users may stream a wide variety of classical, jazz, new age, and world music from on or off campus. You may search the collection or browse by title, genre, or broader categories. The site also includes a reference area with sections such as opera synopses, opera libretti, and a pronunciation guide. See Naxos’s homepage for details on system requirements. Professors may use Naxos to create playlists centered around a course’s content. This feature requires an additional password; please talk to Susannah Cleveland in the ML/SRA for details.

The Database of Recorded American Music (DRAM) is a collection of 1,200 CDs (7,500 compositions) by American composers and artists. Labels include New World, CRI, Albany, Innova, and several others. Genres range “from folk to opera, Native American to jazz, 19th century classical to early rock, musical theater, contemporary, electronic and beyond.” It is possible to find materials by searching or by browsing in nine different categories. Access to this resource is limited to the campus only; the first time you use it on a given computer, you will be asked to indicate that you are a BGSU user, but after that, access should be automatic on that machine. Technical requirements are available on the DRAM website. Reference materials, such as essays, bibliographies, and discographies provide context and starting points for further research. There are plans for a playlist function in the future, but it is not yet available.

Please try these new products and let us know what you think.