Background: This is an on-line version of an index of obituary citations published annually by the Music Library Association (MLA) in its quarterly journal, Notes. The index facilitates access to information about musicians and other members of the music world. Obituary citations are compiled from a wide range of sources; selection criteria have varied by editor. The current editor is Mimi Tashiro, Bibliographer at the Stanford University Music Library. We have included a list of former editors of the Obituary Index.
The On-line Index: The on-line version of the obituary index is the brainchild of the Index's longtime former editor, Karen Nagy, Deputy University Librarian and Director of Academic Information Services at Stanford University Libraries and Information Resources (SUL-AIR). The project is part of a larger body of SUL-AIR projects to create on-line reference resources. Constructing an on-line, hypertext version of the index has allowed us to change how citations can be searched and accessed. Entries from the 1966 through 1995 issues of NOTES are now grouped into one database that can be searched by keywords. Entries containing keywords are returned to the user. Journal and dictionary abbreviations in individual entries are linked to names in full lists of journals and music dictionaries.
Drawbacks: While this new format allows for simpler
access, it also means that the integrity of the old issues is not
preserved in electronic form. To browse yearly listings in tandem
with the original supplements, one needs to consult the paper
version of the index. We have, however, tagged each electronic entry
with the issue of NOTES from which it was taken. Ways in which the
index has varied over the years becomes obvious in this on-line
format: the journals and, to an even greater extent, the
dictionaries cited have varied over the years.
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