About the Collection
The Sheet Music Collection has recently been moved into our main catalog, making it much easier to search for. It consists of over 21,000 items, including approximately 4,000 Canadian imprints, over 2,000 of which are digitized and available on the Internet Archive, and over 3,500 examples of choral octavo sheet music.
The collection provides a unique opportunity to view publishing practices and popular works from North America in the 19th and 20th centuries (1800-1950). Pictures, text, and associated music provide an insight into the culture of that era.
The collection is generally available for copying but is non-circulating (meaning you are not able to check it out but are welcome to look at it in the library).
Content warning: This collection reflects the time in which it was published and thus may have outdated values reflected within it. Please note that there may be themes or language that are racist, sexist, misogynist, or ableist and take care when accessing.
Simple search tips
At the LibrarySearch page, enter your search term(s) into the search box. Keep the option to search "Everything" and select "Music Library" to get the best results.
**Note that the "" is a phrase search, so will search only those words next to each other rather than each word individually, so you don't get results for every piece that includes 'remember,' etc. The "" works in many major databases.
On the search result page, you will notice beside each item there is a simple description (title, author, publisher) and below that location and call number.
You can further refine these results with more filters in the left column, subject or publication date for example. When you click on the title it will bring you to a pop-out page with more information on the piece.
There are a number of effective ways to search the catalogue for items in this collection, so feel free to experiment. Please contact the library if you have any questions or would like some assistance.
Also available in the Music Library: