New Music Librarian at NIU!

Hello Huskies! My name is Abbey Thompson and I'm thrilled and honored to be your new Music Librarian. My first day of work was June 1st, and after a peaceful summer to get acclimated to DeKalb and NIU, I'm ready to get this party started!

A bit about my background...

I have a Master of Arts in Musicology and a Master of Science Library Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (2006 and 2008, respectively). I also have a Bachelor of Music degree in Performance (Vocal) from the University of California, Santa Barbara (2000).
Prior to taking the position here at NIU, I served as the Collection Services Manager for the Music Library at Princeton University. I have also worked at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities as a cataloger of rare childrens books, and for Southeastern Libraries Cooperating (Rochester, MN) as a Project Manager and music cataloger for the Chatfield Brass Band Music Lending Library. While in graduate school at UNC Chapel Hill I worked in the Metadata Research Center, Rare Books & Special Collections, and for the Southern Folklife Collection.

My scholarly interests include early music (particularly vocal music) and the early music revival of the 20th century, as well as performance practice, music reception, pop music studies, and video game music. On the library side of things, I am interested in taxonomies/folksonomies, music user services, and music reference. In my spare time, I enjoy singing, cooking/baking, and I'm an avid player of video games and board games.


My role here at NIU is to help you with your music research needs. As well as being your librarian, I'm a member of the tenure-track faculty, performing research and publishing in my own right. You can count on me to be a professional ally! Feel free to stop by and chat with me in the music library - right now I even have some homemade chocolate chip cookies to tempt you in.

Music Library Exhibit – Jazz at NIU

Hello! My name is Danielle Spalenka, and I am the Curator at the NIU Regional History Center and University Archives. I am happy to be a guest blogger and to announce that a new exhibit has been installed in the Music Library. The exhibit celebrates the legacy of Jazz at Northern Illinois University and features photographs from the University Archives. The images will be on display for the rest of the spring semester.

Shortly after the jazz program began in 1969, a number of legendary jazz artists made appearances with the jazz ensemble in concerts, clinics, and recording sessions. The photos displayed in this exhibit highlight just a few of the jazz dignitaries that have visited campus in the past four decades. Be sure to stop in and see the image of jazz pianist Marian McPartland in 1972 with Ron Modell, the founding director of the NIU jazz program. You will also see images of jazz drummer Louis Bellson (a northern Illinois native) receiving an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from NIU in 1985. And finally, photos from Duke Ellington’s final public performance – which took place in what is now the Ellington Ballroom at NIU – are on display.

Duke Ellington's final public performance, 1974.

To learn more about the history of the NIU jazz program, or to find other jazz legends that have visited campus over the years, be sure to visit the NIU Regional History Center located on the 4^th floor of Founders Memorial Library. You can also search for materials related to the jazz program on the Northern Illinois University Regional History Center and University Archives website.

Thanks again to the Michael Duffy and the Music Library for letting us display these wonderful photographs for the remainder of the Spring 2014 semester! 

Music Library will close early on October 27, 2009

The Music Library will close at 6:30 p.m. on October 27 for a reception. Please plan to use the library before 6:30 that evening! Thank you!

Music Library closing early on February 12, 2009

The Music Library will close at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, February 12, 2009 for a private reception. Please make a note of this if you plan on visiting the library this week.

Keeping Track of What's New in the Music Library

Have you ever wondered how you can keep tabs on new items in the Music Library? Here's how: Go to our "New in the Library" Web page at https://i-share.carli.illinois.edu/newbooks/newbooks.cgi?library=NIUdb, and select "Music Library Collection" from the "Location" box on the left side at the top of the page.

If you want to subscribe to an RSS feed of this content, click on the "XML" button next to "RSS Feed" in the red bar across the top of the screen. You can then click on "Subscribe to this feed" on the feed page if you want. If you use a feed reader, you can copy the URL from this page into your reader.

Welcome Summer Students!

Please feel free to stop by the Music Library and take advantage of our collection of books, scores, and sound recordings. In total, we have about 70,000 items for you to use. Also, we have wireless Internet access!

We recently shifted our reference collection, so if you have used the reference books before, you may notice that many of them are in a different place. We have put up new call number guides on the ends of the shelves to assist you. If you have any questions, please ask Mike Duffy or Mark Mattson. Have a great summer, and welcome to NIU!

Wireless Access!!!

The Music Library is now equipped to provide wireless Internet access to members of the NIU community with VPN connections! If you have not used wireless connections on campus before, please visit the NIU SecureNet site at http://securenet.niu.edu/index.shtml to set up your connection. You will need your NIU ID (student Z-number or employee network ID) and password. We hope that this service will greatly enhance your use of the Music Library. You can now bring your laptop and connect to all library databases and the Internet right from the comfort of your seat!