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Getting started with our resources
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Commercial sound recordings and documents on the early recording industry
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Find and request our materials in the main Harvard Library catalog
Using the Library
As Harvard’s home for musical materials, the Loeb Music Library supports the study and performance of music across Harvard and beyond. We’re open to all Harvard ID holders. Visitors interested in our general collections can apply for access. Our special collections are open to all.
Our Spaces
Listening Rooms
Listening rooms feature speakers, a flatscreen display, and equipment for playing reel-to-reel tapes, CDs, DVDs, LaserDiscs, VHS tapes, and cassette tapes.
Group Study Room
Book this space that fits up to four people around a conference table and adjustable desk.
Open Study Spaces
Our library has a variety of open study spaces for quiet study or collaboration. Find the one that's right for you.
Collection Highlights
Our collections support research in a variety of musical disciplines, including historical musicology, music theory, ethnomusicology, composition, and historically informed performance practice.
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Special CollectionArchive of World Music
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Digital CollectionDigital Scores and Libretti
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General CollectionBooks, Scores, and Periodicals
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General CollectionRecordings Collection
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Special CollectionEduard Alekseyev Fieldwork Collection of the Musical Culture of Yakutia
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Special CollectionIsham Memorial Library
On Exhibit
Virtual Exhibits
Sweet Sounds from Rulan Chao Pian
Featured materials collected by Rulan Chao Pian, professor, scholar, and ethnomusicologist.
Eileen Southern and the Music of Black Americans
Highlights from Southern's personal collection and her life and legacy.
Treasures of the Loeb Music Library
An introduction to the Music Library's rich holdings in honor of its 60th anniversary.
About the Loeb Music Library
The Eda Kuhn Loeb Music Library, named by benefactor Gerald Warburg in memory of his aunt, opened in 1956 as the library of the Harvard Music Department.