About the Music Collections
San José Public Library's extensive music holdings at the King Library include five collections:
- Songs/Songbooks Collection -- a continuing collection which contains a wide variety of music with an emphasis on popular music from the 1970s on. It presently includes over 500 songbooks with 24,000 titles.
- Music Magazine Collection -- includes bound volumes of Sheet Music Magazine and Sing Out! Magazine.
- Sheet Music Collection -- a collection of popular songs from the late nineteenth century to the 1960s which was donated to the library. It contains 16,000 titles.
- Choral Music Collection -- sheet music for different voice ranges. It contains 1,600 titles.
- Stock Music Collection -- another donated collection consists mostly of big band music from 1878 to 1967 with parts for different band instruments. It contains 5,900 titles.
Music Collections Index
This is an online index to most of the Library's print music holdings and does NOT include digital images or full text of the materials cited.
Search the Index or Browse by A-Z Song Title
How to Locate the Music
Songbooks
Use the Songbook ID# to find the songbook on the 3rd Floor of the King Library. Look for an orange sticker on the spine of each songbook with the typed accession ID#.
Music Magazines
Use the Source information to locate the correct issue of the magazine on the 3rd Floor of the King Library.
Choral Music, Sheet Music, and Stock Music
You may request a title in person at the California Room on the 5th Floor of the King Library during open hours. You may call the California Room at (408) 808-2167 to have the music paged from the archives ahead of your visit.
How Do I Get a Photocopy?
Residents of California's South Bay Area can visit the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library in-person to make a photocopy. Those who reside outside the library's primary service area may contact their city's local library to request a photocopy through Interlibrary Loan.
NOTE: San José Public Library does NOT lend music nor scan, mail, or fax copies to individuals from these collections. You can also find additional sheet music to borrow through the Library Catalog.