The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts > Collections > The Music Division

Collection Descriptions and Guides

The Music Division of The New York Public Library is one of the world's preeminent music collections. Chronicling the art of music in all its diversity - opera, spirituals, ragtime, jazz, musical comedy, orchestral, rock, and pop music - its vast collection illuminates an art form that is as diverse as humanity. While the Division contains many scores and manuscripts from centuries past, its curatorial mandate is an activist one, placing major emphasis on capturing the creative output of contemporary composers. A number of the division’s collections, considered significant because of content or size, are represented here with links to their catalog records and online finding aids when available.

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