Faculty Guide to the Library: Using the Library

Every course in Canvas has a Library Materials tab. The default page for that tab gives basic library information and a resources list. Library staff can work with you to customize this tab, adding digital resources directly into your Canvas course, as well as links to physical books and scores on two-hour course reserve.

Please use this request form to add your required or suggested readings, files, listening assignments, viewings, etc.

Contact the Library staff directly if you have any questions or concerns; we will work with you to ensure students can access those materials directly from your course’s Canvas page.

Going through the Library for all your required materials helps guarantee that you offer the most up-to-date editions, that proper copyright regulations are followed for sharing content, and that students have free and easy access to what they need, whenever possible.

Note: While the above form allows for submitting only one resource request at a time, please feel free to provide details for other titles (with the same required information) in the form’s Additional Info / Instructions field.

Want to share a direct link to a library resource with students or others?

For individual items, look for the Permanent Link button at the bottom of the item record. Clicking that will load the record with its “permanent” URL. Copy that and share it as you will.

The Library provides access to thousands of digital resources (for free) to you and your students.

We recommend spending some time perusing the Library’s A-Z List of Digital Resources to see what is pertinent to your needs.

Most digital resources can be accessed using your Library login. The few below, however, require some extra steps before you can start using them:

• The Berlin Philharmonic’s Digital Concert Hall. Create a personal login, and you can stream all of their concerts or download them using their app.
• The Ebsco Mobile ebook reader. Many of our ebooks come from a company called EBSCO. You can read them in a browser, but you’ll have a better experience on a phone or tablet by using their dedicated ebook app, EBSCO Mobile. (Books from other companies can often be downloaded, usually as PDFs, in which case you can use an app of your own choosing.)
• Exact Editions and Flipster. Several of our digital magazines, such as Backstage, Gramophone, Jazzwise, The Musical Times, The New Yorker, The Strad, can be read using special apps that make the experience better on tablets and phones.
• The Henle Library app. Use and annotate Henle editions on your tablet, or download them as PDFs. Requires a separate login and downloading the Henle app.
• Naxos Music Library. This great resource for classical and jazz recordings has the benefit of excellent metadata (unlike most streaming sites). They cover many of the most popular big labels as well as small, specialized ones. Create your personal login to create playlists, and use their mobile app to download recordings for offline listening.
• The New York Times. You get free all-digital access for the duration of your time at MSM. Spend a few minutes creating a login and downloading the app, and you can use it exactly like a personal subscription.
• nkoda. Follow our sign-up instructions. You'll have access to a huge digital library of non-public-domain scores, from major publishers like Bärenreiter, Boosey & Hawkes, Breitkopf & Härtel, Durand, Ricordi, Universal, Schott, and many others
• A-Z List of Digital Resources. The above are just the beginning. Check the full list of our digital resources to take full advantage of them all.

Magazines

From Double Reed to the New York Review of Books, the Library provides the MSM community with free access to dozens of magazines, periodicals, and newspapers. Browse them all in our digital magazine rack, or search for individual titles in our catalog.

If you have any difficulty finding what you are looking for in the Library, try following these steps:

• Try searching for the item using the different search options (found near the top of the Library homepage). In addition to the main “Discovery” search bar (a search engine called Summon), you can search the traditional library catalog and WorldCat.

  Each one has its strengths for finding certain materials, and each one (including Summon) has an Advanced Search option that gives you more options for expanding or limiting your search.

• If you still haven’t found what you need, contact a Library staff member. We are here to help and are experts in finding information. After consulting with Library staff, we may suggest one of the following options.
  • Fill out the Interlibrary Loans (ILL) form (also linked to from the Library's home page). Through ILL, we can get for you nearly anything we don’t own ourselves. This service is free to you.
  • As you know, New York City is full of amazing resources. Library staff can help you find and access materials at other NYC libraries/institutions.
  • Tell us about your needs (or ideas) using our Suggest an Acquistion form.

There are several ways to connect with Library staff:

• Contact us by email or from our Library staff page.
• Visit us (in-person) at the Library:
  • A Library staff member should be at the Circulation Desk, Mon-Fri between 9am-5pm.
  • Library staff are also available to help you at the Reference Desk (across from Circulation), Mon-Fri, between 11am-4pm.
  • Feel free to knock on the (almost always open) door of the Library director, Peter Caleb (on the other side of the Library from the entrance, near the magazine rack).