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MPAL Easy Search: What am I searching?

Easy Search will show you how many results there are in several (but not all) music, dance, and theatre library resources. Click the results link next to each resource to view those results. Hover over the for information about each resource listed below. For more resources in each subject area, use the pages listed under “Research Resources” in the menu above.

Books, Ebooks, Media in UIUC & Illinois Libraries

Searches physical and electronic library holdings. Good for finding books, journals, scores, recordings, etc.

  • University of Illinois Library Catalog
  • I-Share Library Catalog
  • IDEALS

Online Audio and Video Recordings

Online streaming tools that cover a variety of types of music, dance, and theatre; includes audio only and video content.

  • Music & Performing Arts (Alexander Street Press)
  • DRAM
  • Naxos Music Library
  • Digital Theatre+ 

Newspapers

Newspaper databases are a great resource for finding interviews and reviews of performances.

  • Newspaper Source
  • ProQuest Historical Newspapers 
  • (London) Times Digital Archive

Web Search Engines

  • Google
  • Google Scholar

Music and Performing Arts Articles

Research databases specific to music and the performing arts, and related subjects such as education and the humanities. Good for finding scholarly journal articles.

  • Music Periodicals
  • Music Index
  • RILM Abstracts of Music Literature
  • International Bibliography of Theatre and Dance
  • Performing Arts Periodicals
  • Education Full Text
  • ERIC
  • Entertainment Industry Magazine Archive 
  • JSTOR

Dissertations and Theses

Find dissertations and theses on a variety of topics. 

  • Dissertations and Theses (ProQuest)

Dictionaries, Encyclopedias, etc.

Reference tools that are good for getting started and finding background information.

  • Oxford Music Online
  • International Encyclopedia of Dance