Pauline Shaw Bayne. A Guide to Library Research in Music. Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow Press, 2008. 274p. alk. paper, $35 paper (ISBN 9780810862111). LC2008-025088.

Pauline Shaw Bayne, Assistant Dean of Libraries and Professor in the School of Music at the University of Tennessee, drew on 16 years as a music bibliography instructor for A Guide to Library Research in Music. Well-organized and direct, it contains the tools necessary to learn the basics of library research in music. Its simplistic approach and emphasis on print sources, basic databases, and Library of Congress structures yield a traditional, library-centric approach appropriate for beginning researchers.

The organization of this book is a clear strength. Part I, "Short Course: Music Research and Writing," can be used on its own as a bare-bones primer. It covers the research process, basic resources, case studies, and the writing process. Part II, "How To: Discover and Use Resources," explores searching strategies such as browsing, subjects and keywords in databases and library catalogs, and thematic catalogs. Part III is "Resources: The Literature of Music." This "bibliographic essay" describes select music resources and explains corresponding Library of Congress Classification. Parts II and III can be integrated into the "short course," or all parts can be done in sequence.

Each part contains short chapters with previews, text delineated by subsections (1.1, 1.2), and review questions. "Learning exercises" provide hands-on experience. Four appendices related to Library of Congress Classification and subject headings aid in locating resources. A bibliography distinguishing highly recommended titles is included, as are author/title and subject indexes. Charts and tables are clear and helpful.

The organization is effective in Part I, making the "short course" an easily navigable and comprehensive introduction to the basics of researching and writing about music. The case study and writing samples enhance understanding.

This short, sectionalized approach falters in Part II’s discussion of searching library catalogs and databases using subject headings and keywords. While the content is solid, the granular structure prevents the logical flow of concepts. The chapters alternate by search method: database structure, subject headings in a library catalog, subject headings in databases, keyword searching in library catalogs, keyword searching in databases. In addition, explanation of the Library of Congress Subject Headings and Boolean logic occur within the context of the chapters. Overviews of these concepts followed by comprehensive explorations of library catalogs and databases may have worked more smoothly. Part III is better suited to the simpler style. Although billed as a selective bibliography, it includes significant explanation of Library of Congress Classification.

The understanding and highly sophisticated use of the Library of Congress Classification and subject heading structure is central to Bayne’s methodology for library research in music. While these concepts are important to research, the depth of the treatment here is unusual. This is important in evaluating an appropriate audience for this book and putting it into a larger instructive context.

Bayne’s stated primary audience is graduate music students. The text succeeds as a basic introduction to music research, assuming no previous experience. Simplistic language supports this, and the content is geared to the traditional canon of Western art music. Yet coverage is inadequate for graduate students who have mastered basic research skills. Primary sources are barely addressed, and necessary subtlety is sacrificed for succinctness (for instance, the thematic catalog chapter doesn’t address "themes"—the main tune—versus "incipits"—the opening measures). So who benefits from extended discourse on syntax for subject headings when many noncataloging librarians express frustration over the labyrinthine system?

The answer lies in Bayne’s philosophy of music instruction. Her approach is solely practical; she does not place her work in the larger context of contemporary research, perhaps revealing the most by that omission. Resources are largely print, library catalogs, and basic databases. The Internet, Google, and Wikipedia are fleetingly covered; and, although guidelines are given for evaluating Web sites, few sites are recommended as scholarly resources. There is no discussion about the radical change in research since the Internet’s widespread adoption, and there is no mention of the decline of students’ traditional skills or the increasing amount of information available online. A Guide to Library Research in Music is rooted in standard physical library organization and structured library catalog searching. Traditional methodologies are preferred and result in a high level of competence. Bayne seems to bank on the timelessness of this approach.

Two other guides to music research published in 2009 by experienced teaching music librarians illustrate different approaches. Music Library and Research Skills by Jane Gottlieb from the Juilliard School addresses the new world of research head on, discussing what is available online and what is not by page 5. Gottlieb spends three pages on subject heading searches, acknowledging the difficulty of its functionality for Google users accustomed to keyword searches. Flexibility and information literacy concepts are essential to mastering research in her approach.

Laurie Sampsel of the University of Colorado at Boulder takes the middle ground in Music Research: A Handbook. She comprehensively examines traditional sources but also gives ample space to scholarly Web sites, blogs, and methods to keep up with the ever-changing Internet. Both Gottlieb and Sampsel have accompanying Web sites updating information published in the book. While Bayne’s is the only book that could be used as a comprehensive textbook, Sampsel’s is based on a sixteen-week semester and provides evaluation checklists.

In essence, A Guide to Library Research in Music is music bibliography basic training. Everyone starts at the bottom, drilling the basics. Those who succeed can use a library like a professional. However, it is not for everyone, and students soon discover that they’ve taken the long way and that research is more complex than they thought. Bayne’s book is well done and successful within its parameters, and it can be recommended for academic libraries with music programs. The same is true for Gottlieb’s and Sampsel’s books. When choosing one or seeking to find a text for a course, all three should be examined to determine the best fit for the needs of the students and the instructional philosophy of the teacher.—Lisa A. Lazar, University of Akron