University of Pittsburgh Library System

To schedule an appointment to use our collections in person, please create an Aeon account and submit your request for the materials you would like to view.

Using Our Collections

Follow the links below to learn more about how to use our collections.

• A Guide to Primary Sources
• Policies and Procedures for the Use of A&SC Collections (PDF)
• Digital Camera Policy (PDF)
• Need to cite our material? (PDF)

Finding Aids

Although the majority of our holdings are catalogued as part of the University of Pittsburgh's online catalog (Pittcat), we have created finding aids for a number of non-catalogued collections.

The following Foster related finding aids are available online:

• Foster Hall Collection: The Foster Hall Collection consists of music manuscripts, Stephen Foster’s bound sketchbook, his bound account book, his personal and family correspondence, musical instruments, business records, photographs, newspaper clippings, and other ephemera. As the centerpiece of the Center for American Music’s library, the collection provides a valuable record of Foster’s composition process, nineteenth-century life in the United States, the music business, Pittsburgh history, and Foster’s legacy. Digital reproductions of portions of the collection are available online.
• Josiah K. Lilly Correspondence: The Josiah K. Lilly Correspondence contains correspondence regarding the impetus of the Foster Hall Collection, development, research, and documentation of the collection at Foster Hall at Lilly's home in Indianapolis, Lilly's relationship with the University of Pittsburgh, and the donation and transfer of the Collection to the University to be housed in the Stephen Foster Memorial. Among the various topics covered in the correspondence are John Tasker Howard's research and publication of his biography of Foster, Evelyn Foster Morneweck's biography of her uncle, Lilly's dealings with rare book dealers, the creation of the Foster Hall Recordings and Foster Hall Reproductions, and Lilly's contact with various Foster descendants.
• Foster Hall Collection Curatorial Correspondence: The Foster Hall Collection Curatorial Correspondence consists of correspondence, financial records, requests for printed materials, and operational reports generated by the Foster Hall Collection from the 1930s until Fletcher Hodges, Jr.'s, retirement in 1982.
• Center for American Music Photos: The Center for American Music Photo collection includes images related to Stephen Foster, including original photos of the composer and his family members, descendants, artifacts, sheet music and other printed items, reproductions for exhibits, and images capturing Foster related events.
• Stephen Foster’s Sketchbook, June 26, 1851-ca. 1864: Foster's manuscript book or sketchbook, a notebook he began keeping on June 26, 1851, in which he wrote down the first drafts of many of his most popular songs.

The following finding aids for other collections are available online:

• Adolph M. Foerster Collection: The Adolph M. Foerster Collection contains manuscripts and printed scores of Foerster’s music, articles written by the composer, newspaper clippings concerning the composer (and the performance of his music), photographs, letters, and “notes” in the composer’s hand.
• Charles Hamm Recording Collection: The records of the Charles Henry Pace Gospel Music Collection exist in various forms such as printer’s plates, negative proofs, and printed music. The collection provides a valuable research tool of not only Charles Henry Pace’s career, but also for demonstrating how the Old Ship of Zion Music Company and Charles H. Pace Music Publishers conducted business. While the date range of the collection comprises 1927-1958, the bulk of the material dates from 1943-1947.
• Charles Henry Pace Gospel Music Collection: A collection consisting of 678 record albums ranging in genre from Rock & Roll to Classical, acquired over time by Dr. Charles Hamm during his career as a musicologist and professor of music. The collection represents the wide variety and scope of American music through the early- to late-twentieth century.
• Dave Burrell Archive, 1961-2022: The archive includes personal and professional correspondence, contracts, handwritten notes, commercial and noncommercial video and audio recordings, photographs, musical scores, posters, and promotional materials related to jazz pianist and composer Dave Burrell.
• Dear Friends Recordings, 1982-2000: This collection contains 81 recordings on cassette, three on CD, and 6 on reel to reel tapes. The majority of the recordings are live performances, though a few were recorded for radio play and six were commercially released. All recordings were made between 1982 and 2000. Most live recordings were engineered by Norm Simeone. The commercially released recordings (6) were recorded at Thomas Studios.
• Edison Cylinder Collection: The Edison Cylinder Collection represents both the songs and the sound recording technology of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The songs range from Christmas tunes to Stephen Foster melodies and showcase American Popular Music through Thomas Edison's innovations.
• Erroll Garner Archive, 1921-1977: This Collection includes correspondence, sheet music, legal documents, photographs, memorabilia, awards, sound recordings, and moving images documenting the life and work of pianist/composer Erroll Garner (1921-1977). 
• Ethelbert Nevin Collection: The collection contains compositions by Ethelbert Nevin (1862-1901), a composer from Sewickley, Pa. In addition to his published songs and unpublished manuscripts, this collection houses correspondence to and from him, photographs of him and his family, press write-ups about him and his works, plus a number of his material possessions.
• Frontis B. Wiggins Collection on Bing Crosby, 1920-2020: This collection consists of an extensive collection of Bing Crosby, an American popular singer, radio host and actor, recordings, books, films, periodicals and materials related to the management of several Bing Crosby fan clubs, all assembled by F.B. Wiggins
• Joe Negri Collection: The Joe Negri Collection contains the original scores, notes, and sound recordings documenting Joe Negri's career from his earliest days performing with his brother, through his years at then Carnegie Tech, up to his current work as a jazz guitarist.
• Robert Schmertz Collection: The Robert Schmertz Collection contains instruments, concert posters and programs, music manuscripts, published scores, songbooks, photos, and sound recordings of Schmertz's own performances and those of the major recording artists who recorded his works, including Burl Ives and Pete Seeger.
• Rosemary Casey Sound Recording Collection: A collection of LPs from RCA mostly dating from around the late 1940s, donated to the collection by Rosemary Casey, who worked for RCA at that time creating their catalog as well as writing liner notes for the records. This collection includes mostly classical and opera recordings, along with many Christmas, International, and even some Test Pressings.

Finding Aids currently in process

• Foster Hall Recordings, ca. March 1934,-June, 1935: The Foster Hall Recordings consist of nine volumes containing 102 12-inch, 78-rpm shellac discs. Found in volumes 1 through 8, the first ninety-five discs contain Songs of Stephen C. Foster. Most of these discs have one song per side, ordered alphabetically by title. Volume 9 contains the seven discs that comprise Stephen Foster Melodies.
• Sam Rivers Archival Collection, 1923-2011: The Sam Rivers Archival Collection contains an extensive collection of Rivers' manuscript scores and parts, commercially and non-commercially released recordings, programs and posters, some financial documents, photographs, magazine and newspaper articles, awards, and other ephemera that helps document his creative process and extraordinary career.
• Ruth and Thomas Martin Archive: In addition to photographs, the Ruth and Thomas Martin Archive contains correspondence, contracts, royalty statements, musical scores with handwritten markings and translations, drafts of the Martins’ translations, annotated scores and scripts used in performances, clippings, and reviews. The photos from the collection may be viewed at https://digital.library.pitt.edu/collection/ruth-and-thomas-martin-archive