Garland Encyclopedia of World Music available online

The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music, long a staple of basic research and bibliography for all aspects of world music, is now available online through the Music Library. It can be accessed from the links page of the music library web site or directly, for enrolled Cornell students, faculty, and staff at http://encompass.library.cornell.edu/cgi-bin/checkIP.cgi?access=gateway_standard%26url=http://glnd.alexanderstreet.com

Note that the interface is both pretty basic and a little confusing, so if you have any heavy research to do, the handy nine-volume set is always available at the Music Library (Ref  ML100 .G23 1998). Also, the main page of the url above adds to the confusion by showing only the “featured” volumes, which can be accessed by clicking on the cover images. All 9 volumes are available, but to get to the list, the intrepid user has to select “browse” from the toolbar under the title. The site features a search bar, which is primarily useful for searching geographic areas or ethnic groups. Because of the way the encyclopedia is structured, searching for (e.g.) instruments produces large numbers of hits of questionable value (unlike the New Grove and many other such works, the Garland Encyclopedia does not have individual articles on instruments; it discusses them within the context of the tradition, geographic area, or ethnic group in which they are used). Despite these quibbles, the Garland Encyclopedia is a phenomenal resource and having it available online makes this trove of information more widely accessible to the Cornell community.