Arts and Humanities Library

You can stream music directly to your laptop, desktop, or handheld device from music audio databases provided by the library. Click here for more information!

Most libraries at Penn State have collections of sound recordings (especially CDs), ranging in size from several hundred at many campus libraries to 13,000 CDs in the Music and Media Center of Pattee Library on the University Park campus. A broad range of music is represented, including jazz, classical, folk, and popular. All sound recordings are available to all Penn State library users via the I Want It button in The CAT, the library's online catalog.

To find sound recordings (CDs and vinyl records):

• use the ADVANCED search page of The CAT, the library's online catalog
• change MATERIAL TYPE (below the search boxes) to AUDIO MATERIAL
• enter your search term(s) in the search boxes
  • enter title words, performer's names, composer's names, or genre words as search terms
  • combine search terms by typing them in separate search boxes and linking them with AND (at the far right of the search box)
• optional: limit your search to CDs by typing "compact" (without the quotation marks) in a KEYWORDS ANYWHERE search box
• optional: limit your search to a particular library location at the IN LIBRARY box (below the search boxes)

Here are some examples:

Performing group

Composer and Title

Tip: for common music title words such as sonata, symphony, and concerto, use the wildcard symbol $ to find both singular and plural forms of the word.

Genre