The IU Libraries' Folklore and Ethnomusicology Collection is the largest, most comprehensive library collection devoted to this subject in the world. Located on the 7th floor of the Herman B Wells Library, the collection contains 50,500 distinct titles, including: 1,100 journals and periodicals; 125 current journal subscriptions; 2,570 sound recordings; 1,000 musical scores and more. The Folklore and Ethnomusicology Collection was digitized as the first "Collection of Distinction" by Google Books.
The William and Gayle Cook Music Library at Indiana University, recognized as one of the largest academic music libraries in the world, serves the world-renowned Jacobs School of Music and the Bloomington Campus of Indiana University. The collection includes over 700,000 catalogued items on 56,733 linear-feet of shelves.The staff includes five librarians, two professional staff, six support staff, and approximately forty-five student assistants. It occupies a four-floor, 55,000 square-foot facility in a wing of the Bess Meshulam Simon Music Library and Recital Center.
3. Archives of Traditional Music
The Archives of Traditional Music is an audiovisual archive that documents music and culture from all over the world. With over 100,000 recordings that include more than 2,700 field collections, it is one of the largest university-based ethnographic sound archives in the United States. Its holdings cover a wide range of cultural and geographical areas, vocal and instrumental music, linguistic materials, folktales, interviews, and oral history, as well as videotapes, photographs, and manuscripts.
4. Archives of African American Music and Culture
Established in 1991, the Archives of African American Music and Culture (AAAMC) is a repository of materials covering a range of African American musical idioms and cultural expressions from the post-World War II era. Our collections highlight popular, religious, and classical music, with genres ranging from blues and gospel to R&B and contemporary hip hop. The AAAMC also houses extensive materials related to the documentation of Black radio.