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How to Cite RISM

Citing RISM and other musical sources

Many publications, whether online or in print, use their own style guides. However, citation styles frequently do not capture the nuances of historic music manuscripts and printed editions, making it difficult to identify the item with absolute clarity. RISM has recommendations for researchers and librarians when citing musical sources, including those found in the RISM database. Following our guidelines will help reduce ambiguity in your citations. Clearly identifying the item will also help the RISM Editorial Center find it quicker in our database, enabling us to cite your research in our records or respond to user queries.

This page outlines RISM’s recommendations for citing music manuscripts and printed editions. We also outline here best practices when linking online publications, citing RISM in library records, and citing A/I and B numbers.

Citing musical sources

Your style guide will tell you how to generally cite historical published music editions or unpublished material such as manuscripts. For people in the field of source studies, including us at RISM, identifying the exact item and specific holding institution is crucial. We encourage writers to include the RISM siglum of the institution where the item is preserved and the shelfmark. If the item is in the RISM database, also include the RISM ID number.

Institution and shelfmark

Use RISM library sigla. This saves space in your publication and avoids ambiguity if institutions have similar names. If we do not yet have a siglum for an institution you need, contact us and we will create one for you. Cite the shelfmark as given by the library.

RISM ID number

To cite musical sources that have records in the RISM database, use the RISM ID number.

In the RISM Catalog, this number appears in the bottom right-hand corner of a record.

In RISM Online, this number appears in the first section, “Title and content description.”

The RISM ID number can be between five and ten digits long.
Examples:

  • 51780
  • 115688
  • 230009947
  • 990034211
  • 1001202959

Electronic publications

Use permalinks when linking to RISM in electronic publications.

In the RISM Catalog, the permalink can be found at the top of a record’s page on the left under Copy Permanent Link.

Example:
https://opac.rism.info/search?id=450031804&View=rism

Note that in the RISM Catalog the URLs that appear in your browser’s address bar are not stable and cannot be used in citations. To create stable URLs for specific searches (such as all pieces by a certain composer), see “How to link to a record or a search” on the catalog’s help page.

In RISM Online, the permalink can be found at the bottom of a record’s page on the left and is labeled Record URI (Permalink). The same permalink also appears in your browser’s address bar. Furthermore, the URLs for searches in RISM Online are stable and can be copied directly from your browser’s address bar.

Example:
https://rism.online/sources/450031804

For those working within the linked data environment, note that the record type (sources, people, institutions) forms an inseparable part of the identifier in this context.

Examples:

  • sources/450031804
  • people/30009233
  • institutions/30000848

Cataloging tools for librarians

For information about citing RISM in MARC21 records, refer to our RISM for Libraries page under Cataloging Tools. There you will also find a “Table of RISM Citation Styles” that covers A/I, every volume in the B series, and the online database.

A/I and B numbers

RISM’s printed catalogs in series A/I (Individual Prints before 1800), B/I (printed anthologies, 16th and 17th centuries), and other catalogs in the B series have identifiers that were created for the catalogs. In the RISM database, the book identifiers are included in the records. In the RISM Catalog, they can be found in the field “RISM series.” In RISM Online, the field is called “Series statement fields.”

Examples:

  • RISM A/I: S 6989
  • RISM A/I: HH 6429a
  • RISM B/I: 1546/23

In A/I, note the space between the initial letter(s) and numbers. In B/I, use a forward slash to separate the year from the sequential number. RISM’s preference is to cite the RISM ID number rather than the A/I or B book numbers. The A/I and B/I numbering systems were only used in the books and are not continued for new records in the RISM database. Some records have numbers from both A/I and B/I, and some A/I numbers refer to multiple, distinct editions. If you cite the A/I or B number, make sure to also include the RISM ID number.

Citation examples

The examples here follow the Chicago Manual of Style for footnotes and incorporate the information discussed above.

Manuscripts not in RISM:

  • Louise Farrenc, “Le Pêcheur Catalan” [1831?], Bibliothèque nationale de France, Département de la Musique (F-Pn) VM7-25919.

Manuscripts in RISM:

  • Fanny Hensel, “Der Fürst vom Berge,” 1841, Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin - Preußischer Kulturbesitz, Musikabteilung (D-B) MA Ms. 163 (16). RISM ID no. 462016316.
  • Francis Johnson, “Colonel Child’s march,” in “Collection of marches, arranged opera excerpts, overture and waltz” [ca. 1830-1875], Moravian Music Foundation, Archie K. Davis Center (US-WS) SCM [446].8 Salem ms. RISM ID no. 240081.
  • Luigi Cherubini, “Cours de Composition” [ca. 1810-1835], Stiftelsen Musikkulturens främjande, Stockholm (S-Smf) MMS394. RISM ID no. 1001228429.

Printed books in RISM:
To refer to an edition

  • Thomas Commuck, Indian melodies (G. Lane & C. B. Tippett, 1845). RISM ID no. 1001252875.
  • Thomas Commuck, “Tallahassee,” in Indian melodies (G. Lane & C. B. Tippett, 1845), 109-112. RISM ID no. 1001255724.
  • Francesca Caccini, Il primo libro delle musiche (Zanobi Pignoni, 1618). RISM ID no. 990007800; RISM A/I: C 2.

To refer to a specific copy

  • Thomas Commuck, Indian melodies (G. Lane & C. B. Tippett, 1845). Columbia University, Butler Library (US-NYcub) 245.2 C73. RISM ID no. 1001252875.
  • Francesca Caccini, Il primo libro delle musiche (Zanobi Pignoni, 1618). Biblioteca Estense (I-MOe) MUS.D.0039. RISM ID no. 990007800; RISM A/I: C 2.

And for everyone…

If you have any comments about a record that you would like to cite in a publication, you can send us your feedback through our Feedback form, or through any record in the RISM Catalog (“Send a comment on this record” on the left-hand side of the record) or RISM Online (“Report an issue” at the bottom of the record).