Welcome to the Peter Jay Sharp Library at Manhattan School of Music. Below are a few steps we recommend taking so that you're ready for anything as the semester gets underway.
Note: If you don't already have a tablet, you might want to consider getting one. While not essential, it comes in handy when you're using our digital books, scores, and magazines.
- Read about Library policies and privileges. It only takes a minute, it'll clarify how the Library works, and you're responsible for knowing this information.
- Create your Library account login. You use your Library login credentials to view your Library account and place holds on items you want.
(For our digital resources, use your MSM email login credentials.)
- Set up your account for the copy/scan/print machines. We recommend doing this in advance, before you need to use the machine urgently for the assignment that's due in five minutes!
- Get familiar with our call number system. It's both simple and mnemonic, and when you get the hang of it, it's a breeze to browse the shelves without always having to consult the catalog.
- Find course reserve books and scores. Course reserves are print materials that your teachers have asked us to keep behind the circulation desk so that everyone can share them for their required reading assignments. Ask for them at the circulation desk. You can check each item out for two hours at a time.
- Browse through our list of digital resources. They are all free to you while you're here, and you can start using them immediately. Most work using your Library login. The few below, however, require some extra steps before you can start using them:
- The Berlin Philharmonic’s Digital Concert Hall. Create a personal login, and you can stream all of their concerts or download them using their app.
- The Ebsco Mobile ebook reader. Most of our ebooks (but by no means all of them) come from a company called Ebsco. You can read them in a browser, but you’ll have a better experience on a phone or tablet by using their dedicated ebook app, Ebsco Mobile. (Books from other companies can often be downloaded, usually as PDFs, in which case you can use an e-reader app of your own choosing.)
- Exact Editions and Flipster. Certain of our digital magazines, such as Backstage, Gramophone, Jazzwise, The Musical Times, The New Yorker, The Strad, can be read using special apps that make the experience better on tablets and phones.
- The Henle Library app. Use and annotate Henle editions on your tablet, or download them as PDFs. Requires a separate login and downloading the Henle app.
- Naxos Music Library. This great resource for classical and jazz recordings has the benefit of excellent metadata (unlike most streaming sites). They cover many of the most popular big labels as well as small, specialized ones. Create your personal login to create playlists, and use their mobile app to download recordings for offline listening.
- The New York Times. You get free all-digital access for the duration of your time at MSM. Spend a few minutes creating a login and downloading the app, and you can use it exactly like a personal subscription.
- NKODA. The sign-up procedure is slightly onerous, and you have to download two apps. But stick with it and you'll be rewarded with digital access to a huge library of non-public-domain scores, from major publishers like Bärenreiter, Boosey & Hawkes, Breitkopf & Härtel, Durand, Ricordi, Universal, and many others
- A-Z List of Digital Resources. The above are just the beginning. Check the full list of our digital resources to take full advantage of them all.
