The Future of Music Databases

The Future of Music DatabasesAuthor(s): Garrett H. BowlesSource: Fontes Artis Musicae, Vol. 34, No. 1 (Januar-März 1987), pp. 61-66Published by: International Association of Music Libraries, Archives, and Documentation Centres(IAML)Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/23507354 .

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G. H. Bowles: The Future of Music Databases 61

grer la connaissance des banques de données de bibliographie générale et de bibliographie musicale

dans l'enseignement de la bibliographie inclus dans cette formation des bibliothécaires musicologues.

Music libraries are part of the system of general and academic libraries. Like the other libraries they are obliged to constantly improve, their services. So far, in Germany little has been done in this way. This may be due to the fact that music librarians in Germany are still not fully aware of the possibiblities offered by data banks. Naturally, modem data banks are more efficient than the conventional systems used so far. Therefore, training of librarians must be changed accordingly. The Stuttgart special College for Librarianship boasts the technical facilities necessary for on-line training. The exercises and train

ing of librarians should concentrate on bibliographic searches and fundamentals of information re

trieval involved.

First, the advantages and disadvantages of BIBLIO-DATA which contains bibliographic items rele

vant to music are described. It is the largest data bank for literature currently in use in the Federal Re

public of Germany and will be enlarged. Ever year about 1.000 new entries are added which are con

cerned with music. These data can be retrieved on-line in various ways. The ZDB (= Data Bank for Periodicals) has been offering a nationwide cooperative cataloguing sys

tem of all the libraries in the Federal Republic since 1982. The data file consists no w of a total of415 000

items (bibliographic records), more than 4500 items thereof are journals, other types of periodicals,

newspapers and serial publications dealing with music.

After the OCLC, ZDB is worldwide the second largest data base of machine-readable catalogue items of continously published non-monographic literature. In this context, the NZN (Lower Saxony

Journal Locator) must be mentioned which is used as a regional joint periodical catalogue of Northern

Germany. Of special interest is the IBZ/IBR data bank (International Bibliography of Periodical Litera

tur and Book Reviews) which was started in 1984 as a pilot project for musicological references and criti

cal reviews from about a hundred journals of music.

Training and education must also include a sound knowledge of foreign data banks, in particular the

services rendered by Lockheed' DOALOG, such as RILM data base, LC MARC, Remarc and hosts with

similar service facilities. This is relevant to the training because getting linked to these hosts may be on

ly a matter of time.

The use of data bases in music libraries will acquire more and more relevance, both for inside service

and for the end user in handling information.

Therefore, the training must familiarize the future librarian with a working knowledge about tra

ditional forms of files and listings, as well as with basic skills for using data banks containing general bi

bliographic bases of bibliographic files specialized in the field of musicology. Otherwise, an efficient in

formation handling cannot be conceived - in the long run.

The Future of Music Databases Garrett H. Bowles (San Diego, California)

Introduction

Technological innovation is changing our profession. What we librarians used to call "infor

mation," the intellectual content of books, scores, and recordings, we now call a database. For

over 500 years we were confined to the distribution of information by printed sources ; compu

ters are now bringing us that information by online sources. Printed databases in music are still

much more flexible, and some, especially thematic catalogs, provide for the special needs of

* Paper given at the IAML Congress in Stockholm, August 1986, at a session of the IAML Commission on Service and

Training. ** Garrett H. Bowles is Music Librarian at the University Library, University of California, San Diego.



62 G. H. Bowles: The Future of Music Databases

musicians through displaying music in notation. Future machine-readable music databases

will more closely resemble these printed databases. They will not only provide access to tex

tual information, but will also provide access to music through the display of musical nota

tion and sound. Interaction with the computer will not just be through a text-oriented key

board, but also through a music specific device, such as a piano-like keyboard or voice recogni

tion system.

The requirements of effective music databases are three-fold: 1. text information, both in

dexes and information sources; 2. visual music displayed on a screen or printed onto paper;

and 3. sound played through headphones or loudspeakers and entered into the computer. The

se are technological requirements, and the equipment which can fulfill them is either already

developed or close to distribution. The current CD-ROM technology coupled with a synthesi

zer can fulfill these requirements. But the impending CD-I technology will be able to fulfill all

three requirements without the addition of extra equipment.

Exploring current CD-ROM technology and applications and the projected CD-I imple

mentation will help us project the future of music databases.

What do these Terms mean?

Let's break the terms into their various components. CD (compact disk) refers to any digital

storage device which uses 12 cm optical (laser-read) disks. CD audio is the most common for

mat; music is stored in digital form on a compact disk which can be played on a machine hoo

ked up to an audio system. Many libraries already have collections of these disks.

ROM (read only memory) is the use of computer memory to store information which can

only be read; the data cannot be altered.

CD-ROM is the marriage of the two technologies so that data can be stored for the use of

computer systems on compact disks. Over 550 megabytes (million bytes) of computer data can

be stored on one disk, equivalent to about 1,500 floppy disks, or 28 20-megabyte hard disks, or

250,000 printed pages, or 500 books each of 500 pages. The players are similar to CD-audio

players, and are attached to a personal computer.

CD-I (compact disk interactive) extends the CD-ROM technology to a system which inte

grates the computer and CD-player, and has a defined format which provides for audio, video, and sound to exist together on a compact disk. It is intended for the home market and will

stand alone, only requiring a video or audio connection.

General Database Characteristics

In examining the potential of databases in libraries, we need to briefly look at current online

systems to see what strengths and weaknesses they have in relation to the new CD technology. Online databases handle only text, and depend upon connection to a central computer by te

lephone or satellite. The cost of using an online database is dependent upon communication, connect time, and transaction charges, and it varies according to usage. Online databases are

under central control because they reside on a large computer system. Response times fluctu

ate in relation to the number of users connected at any time. Telecommunication is a vital link

to the database, and can be affected by weather or other problems rendering the database inac

cessible. When systems go down for repair or maintenance their data is unavailable because

backup systems are very expensive. Searching is usually done by a trained Librarian.

Stand-alone database systems in the immediate future will be based on the CD-ROM and

eventually the CD-I. They will provide access to text, video, and sound. These new databases

will differ from the online system in that they will have a fixed purchase cost; in high-volume database applications their cost will be substantially lower than an online system. They will

either operate on personal computers or as stand-alone units. Their availability will be deter

mined by the user; response times will be consistent; equipment will be easily transportable and will allow rapid replacement of elements to eliminate substantial down time; and they will

be available directly to the user.




Applications on CD-ROM

Six elements are needed for a CD-ROM application: a personal computer, a CD-ROM play

er, an interface device to connect the two together, software to drive the CD-ROM player, soft

ware to search and retrieve data from the compact disk, and a CD-ROM in a format compatible with the system. Let's look at these elements.

CD-ROM players are intended to be attached to a personal computer. Presently, the only

computers which are capable of extensively using CD-ROMs are the IBM PC/XT/AT and clo

nes operating in an MS-DOS environment.1

The standard for the CD-ROM was developed by Sony Corporation of Japan and N. V. Phi

lips of the Netherlands in 1983 and issued as the Yellow Book. Just like the Red Book developed in 1980 for the compact digital audio disk, the Yellow Book includes specifications for the disk

and the player. A CD-ROM player must be able to read a standard 12 cm disk mastered in the

Constant Linear Velocity (CLV) mode and containing 550 megabytes (or 60 minutes) of digital data. In order to read data at a constant speed along the 3-mile track, the drive must contain a

variable-speed motor that rotates between 200 and 600 rpm. A player must read data in 2,352

byte blocks; each block consists of 2,048 bytes of user data, and 288 bytes of error correction

and detection coding, and 16 bytes of header information. The drive must provide a sequential data-transfer rate of 150 kilobytes per second to a connected computer.2

The Interface is needed to transfer data between the CD-ROM and the computer. There is

no single standard for the interface, although the Small Computer System Interface (SCSI), a

standard supported by many hardware-peripheral vendors in the personal computer market

place, is used by several manufacturers. Its advantage is that only one interface card is needed

to hook up equipment from different manufacturers; its disadvantage is that it does not per form optimally with any player because it must accommodate them all. System-specific inter

faces are available for virtually all 16-bit computers.

Software is generally both equipment and function specific. Most CD-ROM applications

include both the device drivers and the search/retrieval software; consequently, they dictate

the equipment on which they can operate. Since retrieval time is dependent upon searching a

spiral track, special software must be used to enhance response time.3

The search strategies used with databases on CD-ROM are little different from those used

by current online databases. They generally fall into two categories : indexed and full-text. The

indexed search strategy depends upon a sorted list of selected terms and requires authority

control of the terms. Full-text search strategy provides access to all words within the database.4

Today's online catalogs are interactive dialogue systems which fall into one of two methods

of operation: command-driven and menu-driven. In a command-driven system, the user sup

plies the search and retrieval commands to the computer according to a pre-defined syntax. A

menu-driven system prompts the user with a choice of commands. Search and retrieval sys

tems available on CD-ROM systems use the same methods that already exist on online sys

tems.

Most CD-ROM applications are direct translations of existing online databases, and they

generally use the same data formats and search routines. A few examples of already existing

CD-ROM databases will show the potential for music databases.5

The on line library catalog. Several vendors have announced the capability of converting a li

brary's machine-readable catalog to CD-ROM format. The advantage of such systems is that a

1 Bob Ryan, The compatibility question, in: CD-ROM Review 1 (1986), p. 58-59. 2 Linda W. Helgerson, A buyer's guide to CD-ROM drives, in: CD-ROM Review 1 (1986), p. 60-61. 3 Linda W. Helgerson, CD-ROM search and retrieval software, in: Library Hi Tech 4:2 (Summer 1986), p. 69-77. 4 Charles R. Hildreth, Communicating with online catalogs and other retrieval systems, in: Library Hi Tech 4:1 (Spring

1986), p. 7-11. 5 Carol Tenopir, Databases on CD-ROM, in: Library Journal (March 1,1986), p. 68-69. Linda W. Helgerson, CD-ROM: A

revolution in the making, in: Library Hi Tech 4:1 (Spring 1986), p. 23-27. Bradford N. Dixon, The impact of CD-ROM on on

line data bases, in: CD-ROM Review 1 (1986), p. 52-53.




medium size library, which could not afford to maintain its own centralized computer system

as an online catalog, can afford to have several catalog locations at a relatively low cost. Typi

cally, these catalog implementations are intended to compete with microfilm catalogs.

Cataloging data. The Library of Congress MARC tapes are a major cataloging resource for

American Libraries containing about 3 million bibliographic records (2 million English lan guage, 1 million foreign language). Instead of using one of the online utilities, such as OCLC or

RLIN, a library can now get the entire MARC database on four CD-ROMS. The software

packaged with the several offerings allows the library to capture the MARC data and use it to

create its own catalog.6

One reported use of MARC data on CD-ROM at Franklin Pierce College in NH, stressed its

cost effectiveness; catalog conversion which cost $ 1 per book using OCLC or projected to ab

out $35,000 was substantially reduced with the purchase of a $3,000 CD-ROM system.7

The major online utilities are also considering issuing databases on CD-ROM; and the Brit

ish Library has demonstrated a prototype CD-ROM which contains over 600,000 bibliographic

records, samples of it UKMARC, the online version of its British Books in Print, and the Con

ference Proceeding Index.8

Database. There are many available speciality databases. The Educational Resources Infor

mation Center (ERIC) database is the national U.S. bibliographic database covering the litera

ture of education.

Dissertation Abstracts is now making available its database from 1984 to 1985. And they

have announced that two CD-ROMs will contain nearly 900,000 citations to all American doc

toral dissertations.

R. R. Bowker has announced the availability of Books in Print and its related in-print guides to the American publishing industry on CD-ROM in October.

The Grolier company has announced the publication of its Academic American Encyclope dia on CD-ROM as The Electronic Encyclopedia.9

The entire text of the 20-volume encyclopedia only uses 60 megabytes of information. The

disk also contains a 50 megabyte index to every word in the database; the search routines are

included on a floppy disk. Search results can be reviewed on the screen, saved to a disk file, or

sent to a printer.

What about CD-I

I think that CD-I, with its integration of video, audio, and textual formats in a stand-alone

application presents a better potential than CD-ROM for music databases. A closer examina

tion of the system should stimulate further thoughts about its potential.10 CD-I (compact disk interactive) is a system designed to use compact disks developed by So

ny and Phillips, who have agreed upon a standard equipment configuration and standard disk

formats. It is intended for the home market, and almost certainly will be less expensive than

the CD-ROM. The CD-I defines a standard format for still pictures, audio, and text. It is a

stand-alone unit combining a compact disk reader, a 68000 microprocessor running under

Compact Disk Real Time Operating System (CD-RTOS), a derivative of OS-9, and a simple in

put device like a joystick or mouse; it can be connected to a home tv or computer monitor. The

first players are expected in 1987.

6 Nancy Melin, The book on library uses, in: CD-ROM Review! (1986), p. 36-38. Jacky Young, Integrating a CD-ROM into an inhouse library system: Sirsi's Lasenape, in: Library Hi Tech 4:2 (Summer 1986), p. 51-53. Frances McNamara, OCLC compact disk cataloging system prototype to debut at ALA conference, in: OCLC Newsletter no. 163 (June 1986), p. 17-18. 7 Margaret Morabito, BiblioFile, in: CD-ROM Review 1 (1986), p. 18-19. 8 Mary Marshall, OCLC compact disc reference package prototype debuts at ALA conference, in: OCLC Newsletter no. 163 (June 1986), p. 21. 9 Bradford N. Dixon, The Grolier Electronic Encyclopedia, in: CD-ROM Review 1 (1986), p. 10-15. 10 Bryan Brewer, Compact Disk/Interactive (CD/I), in: CD-ROM Review 1 (1986), 54-57.




CD-I audio defines four audio formats; the standard 74 minute CD stereo audio, a 144 minu

te stereo or almost 5 hour mono format, a 5 hour stereo or 10 hour mono format, and a speech mode of 10 hour stereo or 20 hour mono format. The longer the playing time, the lower the

sound quality.

CD-I video, which is usable on any of the 3 tv systems (PAL, NTSC, or Secam), includes

three types of picture encoding: natural pictures, user-manipulated graphics, and quality

graphics. Natural pictures are video stills of studio quality; about 6,000 pictures stored in a

compressed format (called DYUV) will fit on a disk. User-manipulated graphics stores uncom

pressed pictures; about 6,000 pictures stored in 8-bit format or about 3,000 pictures stored in

15-bit format will fit a disk. Quality graphics yields a cartoon-like image because of its limited

number of colors, but almost 60,000 pictures could fit on a disk.

Text can be stored in two formats, user manipulated or bit-mapped. User manipulated text

appears in two resolutions, one using about 550 megabytes can appear as 40 characters on 20

lines or as 80 characters on 40 lines. User manipulated text using about 300 megabytes can ap

pear at a larger size. Bit mapped text is essentially a picture of a specific piece of text.

Since CD-I is intended to combine media, both sound and video can be interleaved for si

multaneous playback. Cartoon playback of an hour or more with an audio track will be pos sible.

Music Databases

In discussing CD applications, I think some of the potential music applications have be

come obvious. Clearly, a major music encyclopedia could be placed on CD-ROM. Indexes, such as RILM, and catalogs, such as RISM, are also potential applications for CD-ROMs. The

CD-I industry is presently talking about developing a product on the lives of composers incor

porating sound, text, and video. More to the point, a thematic catalog which would display

music, play it, and provide textual information seems to be an obvious use. These examples are

intended to stimulate your thinking about similar music databases.

Finally, I want to point out that serious thought is being given to the use of this new technol

ogy for a music database application. A project directed by George Hill and supported by the

National Endowment for the Humanities is currently underway to produce a machine-read

able database accessing the standard editions of music commonly known as Denkmäler and

Gesamtausgaben. It is considering the possibility of distributing the results by CD technology. Provision exists in the database for the encoding of musical incipits, and a coding scheme has

been developed. The project will be completed in two years; at that time it seems not unreason

able to expect a CD-based database which could be searched by musical incipit, as well as hav

ing the incipit played out.

Music databases will benefit from the application of the new CD technology; databases

which are presently very expensive in an online environment will almost certainly become eco

nomically viable in the near future through the use of distributed, stand-alone systems.

Plusieurs bases de données musicales sont désormais disponibles pour les bibliothèques; toutefois,

elles sont organisées comme des ensembles d'informations musicales rangées alphabétiquement. Ces

masses d'informations sont stockées sur un large ordinateur et sont distribuées aux terminaux locaux

de nos bibliothèques via ligne téléphonique ou par satellite. Cependant, les récents développements

technologiques laissent prévoir des améliorations substantielles: il est clair que les bases de données

vont rapidement évoluer dans une direction entièrement nouvelle, où l'information sera mise à dispo

sition au moyen des systèmes distribués. Les disques à laser et les disques compactes (CD-ROM) qui

permettent de stocker de très importantes quantités de données sont désormais disponibles; ces mé

moires de masse peuvent être lues sur des ordinateurs personnels dissiminés dans la bibliothèque, ce

qui bien évidemment élimine le besoin de la connection onéreuse à un large ordinateur. Reliées aux ca




parités d'affichage graphique et aux interfaces MIDI, les bases de données de l'avenir rencontreront

plus efficacement les besoins des bibliothèques musicales en fournissant la musique à la fois sous for

me de notation sur l'écran de l'ordinateur et sous forme sonore.

Einige der direkt im Bibliothekssystem eingespeicherten Systeme sind jetzt generell verfügbar, im

allgemeinen jedoch fungieren die Datenbanken als Sammelspeicher alphabetisch kodierter Musikin

formation. Diese Sammelspeicher können jetzt in unseren Bibliotheken über Computer-Bildschirme

abgerufen werden, wobei die ,terminals' über Telefon oder Satelliten mit einem Zentralcomputer ver

bunden sind. Allerdings hat sich die technologische Entwicklung substantiell derart verbessert, daß wir

heute absehen können, daß die bibliothekarischen Datenbanken sich strukturell in eine neue Rich

tung entwickeln, wobei speziellen Systemen eine besondere Bedeutung zukommen wird. Laser-Disks

oder CD-ROMs, die sehr umfangreiches Datenmaterial speichern können, werden jetzt erhältlich, wo

bei diese Systeme an ,personal computers' in unseren Bibliotheken angekoppelt werden können; da

durch entfällt in einem hohen Grade die Notwendigkeit der direkten Verbindung mit dem Zentralcom

puter, ja der Existenz eines Zentralcomputers überhaupt. Eine Verbindung der Fähigkeit graphischer

Darstellung mit,MIDI - interfaces' wird es den Datenbanken ermöglichen, den Ansprüchen der Musik

bibliotheken in Zukunft mehr gerecht zu werden, indem es möglich wird, Musik über Computerbild schirme in Form von Musiknotation und gleichzeitig gespielter Musik anzubieten.



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The Future of Music Databases