Abstract
Image of Ludwig van Beethoven is in the public domain
Beethoven
Black composers
Concerts from the Library of Congress
Early American sacred music
Eleanor Everest Freer
Film music
Harry Thacker Burleigh
Jazz research
Latin American composers
LGBTQ+ performing arts resources
Stephen Collins Foster
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
These are just a few of the topics that have captured the attention of subject specialists in the Music Division at the Library of Congress, inspiring them to create dozens of related research guides that are available online at https://guides.loc.gov/performing-arts.
The guides provide valuable points of entry into the vast holdings of the Library’s Music Division. Numbering approximately 20.5 million items and spanning more than a thousand years of Western music history and practice, the holdings include classified music and book collections, music and literary manuscripts, iconography, microforms, periodicals, musical instruments, published and unpublished copyright deposits, and close to 500 special collections in music, theater, and dance.
In addition to preserving and making available these materials, the Music Division also produces concerts, conversations, and more—and has for decades! As a result, thousands of event recordings exist and are available online.
But “thousands” can be daunting! So one of the newest research guides, “Concerts from the Library of Congress: Pick of the Week,” may be of particular interest to educators and students because it brings together the best of preexisting videos of lectures, concerts, conversations, and collection items on a variety of musical topics.
When the COVID-19 pandemic began and in-person concerts at the Library of Congress could no longer happen, the Music Division began sending weekly email messages to patrons sharing curated playlists of free recorded performances, lectures, and conversations. While the email messages continue to go out to thousands of patrons, they are now also available as part of the special research guide. Check out https://guides.loc.gov/concerts-pick-of-the-week!
Footnotes
Lee Ann Potter directs the Professional Learning and Outreach Initiatives Office at the Library of Congress of the United States in Washington, D.C. She can be reached at