Répertoire International de Littérature Musicale
Encyclopedia
Répertoire International de Littérature Musicale (International Repertory of Music Literature; Internationales Repertorium der Musikliteratur), commonly known as RILM, is an international bibliography
of writings on music covering scholarly publications on all kinds of music and published in any language. It covers both current and older literature and contains over 500,000 entries for publications in 214 languages and from 146 countries. The covered material includes articles, books, bibliographies, catalogues, master’s theses and doctoral dissertations, Festschrift
en, films, videos, technical drawings of instruments, facsimile editions, iconographies
, commentaries included with critical editions of music, ethnographic recordings, conference proceedings, digital media, and reviews. Each RILM entry provides the title in the original language, an English translation of the title, full bibliographic data, and an abstract
with a keyword index. Currently RILM is growing at the rate of over 30,000 listings each year.
RILM’s bibliographic database
, RILM Abstracts of Music Literature, was issued in print from 1967 through 1999 and is currently available in a cumulative online database by subscription. RILM's other printed publications include the RILM Retrospectives series, initiated in 1972, which includes printed thematic bibliographies of pre-1967 music literature; the RILM Perspectives series, initiated in 2009, which includes papers presented at conferences sponsored by RILM; and a style manual for writing about music.
(1918–1997) under the joint sponsorship of the International Musicological Society and the International Association of Music Libraries, Archives, and Documentation Centres. Each sponsoring society nominates five members to the Commission Mixte International, RILM’s international governing board. The Graduate Center of the City University of New York
provides an institutional context for RILM’s International Center. At the time of its founding, RILM was the first abstracted bibliography in the humanities and designated by the American Council of Learned Societies
as the pilot project for the development of a computerized, bibliographical system in the humanities to serve as a model for the more than 30 constituent scholarly societies of the ACLS. RILM’s development of procedures for computerized data processing was immediately adopted by RILA (Répertoire International de Littérature d’Art), founded upon RILM’s model, which started publishing abstracts in 1975.
RILM’s global network provides bibliographic citations and abstracts for items published in their respective countries to the International Center, where they are translated, edited and indexed; they are then added to the online database, which is updated monthly. Bibliographic information and abstracts—as well as journals that have not yet been covered by RILM—can also be submitted directly to the International Center in New York.
Bibliography
Bibliography , as a practice, is the academic study of books as physical, cultural objects; in this sense, it is also known as bibliology...
of writings on music covering scholarly publications on all kinds of music and published in any language. It covers both current and older literature and contains over 500,000 entries for publications in 214 languages and from 146 countries. The covered material includes articles, books, bibliographies, catalogues, master’s theses and doctoral dissertations, Festschrift
Festschrift
In academia, a Festschrift , is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during his or her lifetime. The term, borrowed from German, could be translated as celebration publication or celebratory writing...
en, films, videos, technical drawings of instruments, facsimile editions, iconographies
Iconography
Iconography is the branch of art history which studies the identification, description, and the interpretation of the content of images. The word iconography literally means "image writing", and comes from the Greek "image" and "to write". A secondary meaning is the painting of icons in the...
, commentaries included with critical editions of music, ethnographic recordings, conference proceedings, digital media, and reviews. Each RILM entry provides the title in the original language, an English translation of the title, full bibliographic data, and an abstract
Abstract (summary)
An abstract is a brief summary of a research article, thesis, review, conference proceeding or any in-depth analysis of a particular subject or discipline, and is often used to help the reader quickly ascertain the paper's purpose. When used, an abstract always appears at the beginning of a...
with a keyword index. Currently RILM is growing at the rate of over 30,000 listings each year.
RILM’s bibliographic database
Database
A database is an organized collection of data for one or more purposes, usually in digital form. The data are typically organized to model relevant aspects of reality , in a way that supports processes requiring this information...
, RILM Abstracts of Music Literature, was issued in print from 1967 through 1999 and is currently available in a cumulative online database by subscription. RILM's other printed publications include the RILM Retrospectives series, initiated in 1972, which includes printed thematic bibliographies of pre-1967 music literature; the RILM Perspectives series, initiated in 2009, which includes papers presented at conferences sponsored by RILM; and a style manual for writing about music.
Organization
RILM was founded in 1966 by the American musicologist Barry S. BrookBarry S. Brook
Barry S. Brook was an American musicologist.Brook received his masters’ degree from Columbia University, where he studied with P.H. Lang, Erich Hertzmann, Hugh Ross, and Roger Sessions, in 1942; he received the doctorate from the Sorbonne in 1959...
(1918–1997) under the joint sponsorship of the International Musicological Society and the International Association of Music Libraries, Archives, and Documentation Centres. Each sponsoring society nominates five members to the Commission Mixte International, RILM’s international governing board. The Graduate Center of the City University of New York
City University of New York
The City University of New York is the public university system of New York City, with its administrative offices in Yorkville in Manhattan. It is the largest urban university in the United States, consisting of 23 institutions: 11 senior colleges, six community colleges, the William E...
provides an institutional context for RILM’s International Center. At the time of its founding, RILM was the first abstracted bibliography in the humanities and designated by the American Council of Learned Societies
American Council of Learned Societies
The American Council of Learned Societies , founded in 1919, is a private nonprofit federation of seventy scholarly organizations.ACLS is best known as a funder of humanities research through fellowships and grants awards. ACLS Fellowships are designed to permit scholars holding the Ph.D...
as the pilot project for the development of a computerized, bibliographical system in the humanities to serve as a model for the more than 30 constituent scholarly societies of the ACLS. RILM’s development of procedures for computerized data processing was immediately adopted by RILA (Répertoire International de Littérature d’Art), founded upon RILM’s model, which started publishing abstracts in 1975.
RILM’s global network provides bibliographic citations and abstracts for items published in their respective countries to the International Center, where they are translated, edited and indexed; they are then added to the online database, which is updated monthly. Bibliographic information and abstracts—as well as journals that have not yet been covered by RILM—can also be submitted directly to the International Center in New York.