Collections

The Music Library contains a rich and diverse collection of Western classical music, jazz, world music, musical theater, and popular music, for both academic study of music and for performance studies. The collection includes approximately 25,000 books and periodicals, 28,000 scores, 17,500 sound recordings, and 700 videos, plus online resources.

Music instruction at Wellesley College dates to 1875, and over the years, the Library has built a music collection that is unusually substantial for an undergraduate liberal arts college. The Music Library is rich in works by and about women composers, composers' complete works in authoritative editions, and facsimile editions of composer manuscripts. The collection is under active development, and requests are welcome.

The 8,000-plus compact discs in the Music Library circulate to students, faculty, and staff, as do all DVDs, VHS video tapes, and other media. All materials are listed in the Library's online catalog.

The Library also provides three online collections of sound recordings: Naxos Music Library, Classical Music Library, and Naxos Music Library Jazz. Other online resources include Grove Music Online, RILM Abstracts of Music Literature, and the International Index to Music Periodicals. For a complete list, see Music Resources Online.

The Music Library's Rare Materials Collection comprises over 250 items, all available for research within the Music Library. Notable items include full orchestral scores to Handel's Messiah, published in 1773, Mendelssohn's Elijah, published in 1846, and Beethoven’s Ninth symphony, published in 1826, the year before he died. Other highlights include a collection of piano works by 19th-century Polish woman composer Maria Szymanowska, published in 1820, and a collection of piano works by 19th-century American composer, Edward MacDowell, also available online.