What kinds of recordings does the Music Library have?
The Music Library is home to over 30,000 CDs, DVDs, LPs, cassette tapes, and VHS tapes - many of which students, faculty, and staff of the University of Minnesota can borrow and take out of the library for up to seven days. Our physical audio/visual materials are held behind the Music Library circulation desk so there isn't a way to browse them, but you can easily search for them in the University Libraries catalog (see below for tips and tricks!).
TIP: No CD or DVD player? No problem! The Music Library lends CD/DVD drives that you can plug into your computer via the USB port. Ask at the circulation desk to borrow one of these drives for up to 3 days!
How to search for physical recordings (CDs, DVDs, etc.)
Digital or streaming recordings are covered on other pages of this guide - check out the Find streaming audio and Find streaming video pages! - but you can use the University Libraries catalog to search our collections of CDs, DVDs, LPs, and more.
The easiest way to find physical recordings in the Libraries catalog is to start by entering keywords into the search box on lib.umn.edu:
Once you see a list of search results, use the Material Type menu to limit your search results to audio recordings or video recordings (in addition to scores and other types of materials), and the Availability menu to limit results to streaming content ("Available online") or physical CDs and DVDs ("Available on Shelf"):
Once you've found materials in the catalog that you want to access, the next step is use the information in the record to help you locate the items you want. Click on the record for the resource you want, scroll down, and you'll find information about where it's located in the form of a call number. If the item is a CD or DVD, it will have a call number that includes "CD-" or "DVD-" and a series of numbers. LPs and other materials have various types of call numbers. Lastly, the catalog can tell you whether an item is available ("Item in place") or unavailable because someone else has it checked out ("On loan"). All A/V materials are held behind the Music Library circulation desk, so please bring your call number to a member of the Music Library staff and we'll bring your materials to you!
