Focus on Free Music Databases



Your San Francisco Public Library card gives you access to a wide range of educational, informative and entertaining databases. With very few exceptions, the databases can be accessed from any computer with your Library card number and PIN. 

To view the list of databases go to the Library’s homepage at www.sfpl.org. Select the eLibrary tab and click on eMusic. 

The Library subscribes to five Alexander Street Press music databases. To search them all at once select Music Online.  A basic keyword search can be conducted by entering terms in the box near the top of the screen. A pull down menu allows users to specify that the search is by genre, instrument or track title.  

To discover something new select the Browse tab near the top left of the screen.  A few of the options are Time Periods, Historical Events and Cultural Groups. The time periods extend from Medieval to the 21 century. The songs about historical events range from those addressing well-known issues and conflicts, such as the American Revolution, to those focusing on more recent issues. The list of cultural groups is extensive, although some groups have only one piece of music to represent their contributions. In some cases a Genre search will yield more specific results. Indian music is a good example of this. Indian Music and a few sub-headings can be found under Genre, however under the World Music menu Indian music is broken into 20 different categories. 

Creating an account on any of the Alexander Street Press databases enables users to create playlists of the music they have selected. The lists can be shared with anyone who wishes to view them or limited to people within a specified group or institution. They can also be made viewable only by the creator of the list. Individual songs and entire lists can be sent to mobile devices. To add a song to a playlist click on the plus icon. From here one can add the song to an existing list or create a new list. To transfer a song, or playlist, to a mobile device click on the cell phone icon. A window will open showing the three options for transferring the music, including simply entering a mobile phone number and clicking Send.   

In addition to audio files, the Alexander Street Press databases contain album liner notes and other reference material.

Have fun!