California Library Systems Cooperative Song Index
http://www.sjvls.org/songs/
145,000 song titles (mostly popular music) indexed in the collections of the California Library System Reference Centers. If you find your song here, ask your local library to get it for you.

California Library Song Collections
If you can't find your song or sheet music in the systems' database, the next step is to look at the indexes of these libraries. If you find your music here, ask your local library to get it for you. "

• San Jose Public Library
  
• Los Angeles Public Library
  
• Santa Cruz Public Library
  

Copyright Holder Services
If you can't find your music in either the systems' database or these library collections, research librarians might double-check sheet music retailers, but will also check the major music copyright holder services.

• ASCAP
  http://ascap.com/ace/
• BMI
  http://www.bmi.com/

Sheet Music Retailers

• Sheet Music Plus
  http://www.sheetmusicplus.com/
  Check back from time to time for new stock.
• J.W. Pepper
  http://www.jwpepper.com/
• AllMusic.com
  http://www.allmusic.com/
• ActiveMusician.com
  http://www.activemusician.com

Song Resources compiled by California's librarians

• San Joaquin Valley Library System
  http://www.sjvls.org/songs/sng_web.html
  This is a wealth of resources organized by type with brief descriptions.
• Librarians' Internet Index - Music
  http://lii.org/search/file/music
  Songs scores, parodies and more…
• Metropolitan Cooperative Library System - Music and Dance
  http://www.mcls.org
• BALIS/PLS/SVLS System Reference Center - Music
  This list of links is from some of the research librarians' bookmarks. Some point to the actual sheet music, some are indexes to library archives, and some may give you an idea of an expert to contact. Check with your local public library if you can't find your song in any of the above links.

Sites for Lyrics

• International Lyrics Playground
  Commentary from the Librarian in Black

Back to top