How to locate sheet music for opera, popular songs and classical music. Information on finding music criticism
This research guide provides information on locating sheet music for popular songs, operas and classical scores. The guide also has suggestions for finding music criticism.
Click on the tabs across the top of this page for more detailed information on each topic.
This is a perpetual work in progress. If you detect errors, or if you can suggest other information sources or approaches to the topic, please contact us.
The library has extensive music holdings in both hard copy and in digital formats. All hard copy material must be listened to onsite, whilst the digital material can be listened to anywhere (if the library user has an Access Membership and is a Victorian resident).
Any music held by the library (physical or digital) will be represented with the speaker icon. 
Databases can be accessed if onsite at the library and also offsite (you will need to hold a library membership and be a Victorian resident for offsite access). You can listen to music or watch music videos at your own leisure with your free State Library Victoria Access Membership.
The music databases can be found on the A-Z Database listing under Music. The databases cover a broad range of music styles and allow a commercial free listening experience.
The majority of the library's collection of CDs and DVDs can be self-requested via the catalogue. This includes many multi CD items. These can used the next day at the collection point, and then used within the Arts Reading Room on the viewing/listening stations. A free library Access Membership is needed to order material. require the CD/DVD cover you can ask the library staff to supply it to you.
The library holds a large collection of CDs and DVDs that are categorised as Kits. Some box sets or CD's with large accompanying booklets will be under this category. These have to be ordered through a librarian and used within the Heritage Collections Reading Room. These items are available as next day delivery (when ordered before 4pm).
Listening posts
A small selection of curated CDs are available to listen to at the listening posts located in the Arts Reading Room and at the north end of the Ian Potter Queens Hall gallery.
The library has an extensive vinyl collection that that it is still actively adding to. A small collection of cassettes are in the library collection as well. Both vinyl and cassettes have to be requested via Ask a Librarian, and be listened to in the Heritage Collection Reading Room. A free library Access membership is required to order items. Retrievals are next day when ordered before 4pm.
Funky & Famous, Greville Street, Prahran / Rennie Ellis. H2011.150/85
The Arts Library at State Library Victoria holds the largest publicly accessible arts collection in Victoria. The items available include: books, journals, recorded music, musical scores, sheet music and ephemera.
There is a large selection of arts-related dictionaries, encyclopedias, online and electronic databases, indexes and directories.
The Arts Library contains a wide range of material for musicians and music researchers. This includes musical scores and sheet music (popular and classical), collected editions of composers' works, piano-vocal scores of operas and musicals, biographies and historical works.
Recorded sound and video in various formats - including 78 RPM, vinyl, DVDs and compact discs - is also well represented in the collection.
Different styles of street music IAN21/08/86/137
Bob Dylan Myer Music Bowl 1978 Rennie Ellis H2011.2/4642
