The literature of American music librarianship has been around since the 19th century when public libraries began to keep records of player-piano concerts, significant donations of books and music, and suggestions for housing music. As the 20th century began, American periodicals printed more and more articles on increasingly specialized topics within music studies. Eventually books were developed to aid the music librarian; their publication has continued over the course of nearly a century. This book reflects the great diversity of the literature of music librarianship. The main resources included are items of historical interest, descriptions of individual collections, catalogues of collections, articles describing specific library functions, record-related subjects, bibliographies designed for music library use, literature from Canada and Britain when relevant to U.S. library practices, key discographies, and information on specialized music research. The material is ordered by topic and indexed by author, subject, and library name.

An essay on authorities examines the controversies over the authenticity of Pachelbel's manuscripts." "Meticulously compiled with copious notes and comments, this unique volume will be invaluable to those already familiar with Pachelbel's compositions and will create new interest among those who were aware only of the universally loved canon movement of his Canon and Gigue in D."--BOOK JACKET.