Update on RISM Library Sigla

Wednesday, June 7, 2023

The first RISM library sigla were created in the 1950s during preparation for the publication of the first volume of RISM Series B, printed anthologies of the 16th and 17th centuries, which appeared in 1960 as B/I (Munich and Duisburg: G. Henle Verlag). The list of sigla that was published in B/I included 920 music libraries in 23 countries. Today, after more than 60 years of continuous work, we have 8,730 library sigla from 85 countries.

The RISM sigla are abbreviations and serve as identifiers for institutions that hold musical sources or material that supports music research. Our focus is not only on major music libraries or the music departments of larger institutions, but also on music holdings found in smaller archives, such as church archives. Private libraries, as well as music libraries and archives (even if they are not designated as such), are taken into consideration as long as they include a single music item. Libraries that own a few composers’ letters or general music literature with historical interest also receive a RISM siglum from us, as do documentation centers, museums, etc.

The RISM Editorial Center creates RISM sigla not only for its own cataloging projects as needed by RISM working groups worldwide, but also for non-RISM projects that need RISM sigla for use in citing sources.

The most recent RISM library siglum is D-Mgha for the Bayerisches Hauptstaatsarchiv, Abteilung III Geheimes Hausarchiv in Munich. It was created for use in the research project “Garten und Musiktheater am Dresdner Hof des 17. und 18. Jahrhunderts” at the request of project staff there.

If you need a new RISM siglum, please contact us at contact@rism.info. We would be happy to create one for you. The only requirement is that the institution holds materials relevant to music. You can first search our Online Directory of RISM Library Sigla or use the Institutions search in RISM Online to see if the siglum already exists.

Catégorie: Nouveau au RISM