About RIPM's Publications

RIPM produces electronic publications in two general methods: those which are deeply indexed (Annotated) and those which are less indexed (Preservation).

Libraries may subscribe to a combination of the databases below:

For a list of journals treated in any of the publications below, please click on the publication title.

RIPM Retrospective Index to Music Periodicals

The RIPM Retrospective Index is a citation database of music periodical literature originally published between ca. 1750 and 1966. Published in print since 1988 and online since 2000, this database is updated every six months, contains more than one million citations, and treats complete runs of periodicals. This database is available on the RIPMPlus Platform and EBSCOHost.

RIPM Retrospective Index to Music Periodicals with Full Text

The RIPM Retrospective Index to Music Periodicals with Full Text, or simply RIPM with Full Text, adds links to journal copies, scanned by RIPM, for most journals found in the RIPM Retrospective Index. Formerly also known as the RIPM Online Archive, RIPM with Full Text provides full text links for 969,338 records. The collection is updated every six months, concurrent with the Retrospective Index. This database is available on the RIPMPlus Platform and EBSCOHost.

The RIPM Retrospective Index is RIPM’s longest-running publication, begun in 1988 and continuing to this day. The RIPM Index consists of highly-annotated records produced from deep indexing of complete runs of music journals.

There are two fundamental advantages to this method of access: access is provided via an index, rather than the full text alone, and each search term is presented in context. This has the advantage of providing access both to indexing terms and to the context in which the terms appear. For example, if Berlioz writes an harmonic analysis of a musical passage without mention of the word “harmony,” the indexer will supply this term in the content description, and the user, searching for the term “harmony” will locate the pertinent passage even though the searched term does not appear in the text. In addition, titles of sections and subsections, such as those found in review columns, are indexed independently. However, this production method requires an extensive amount of time and is costly. A labor-intensive process, produced by scholars, this necessarily limits the number of journals that can be treated.

RIPM Preservation Series: European and North American Music Periodicals

The Preservation Series was created to increase the pace at which RIPM can make searchable full-text music journals available and do so in a comparatively economical manner. Access to RIPM Preservation Series content is based upon two methods.

1. Full-text searching of the textual content. This method is based on optical character recognition (OCR) technology that permits searching through all words, using Boolean operators to refine searches. Search terms are highlighted on full-text pages.

2. Unannotated citations.* These citations contain the title, author, and page number(s) of the cited content. The content includes articles and illustrations but does not include the deep indexing or annotations found in the RIPM Index. Citations in RIPM Jazz have been further enhanced to include various subject categories and pertinent added indexing terms.

*These unannotated citations have been available in RIPM Jazz Periodicals since 2023. Citations in the Preservation Series will become available in phases, beginning summer 2025, with the goal of adding records every six months. These records will be available on RIPM’s build of the Preservation Series initially. In time, these will also be available on the EBSCO build. In any case, these citations also will be available in the RIPM Retrospective Index on both EBSCO and RIPM.

RIPM Jazz Periodicals

A collaboration with the Rutgers University Institute for Jazz Studies (Newark, New Jersey), RIPM Jazz Periodicals is collection of 185 jazz periodicals, ranging from major titles such as Down Beat, Metronome, JazzTimes, and Cadence, to lesser-known, ephemeral, and underground literature. Most periodicals in the collection are available uniquely online in RIPM Jazz. While RIPM Jazz began as a project focused on American (U.S.) publications, representing the birthplace of jazz, RIPM Jazz has begun to include European journals as of the autumn 2023 update. RIPM Jazz is available directly from RIPM and on EBSCOHost. For more on this project, see ripmjazz.org.

Ceased Publications

RIPM Retrospective Index to Music Periodicals in Print

Released in 1988, ceased publication in 2016. The RIPM in Print series contains three-part publications which consist of highly annotated calendars, extensive keyword-in-context/author indexes and introductory studies. Three hundred and eighteen volumes treating 105 music periodicals were published. Copies are no longer available from RIPM.

Periodica Musica

A journal published annually from 1983 to 1991, with a final issue in 2005, the journal focused on musical press research, bibliographies, news from RIPM, and allied topics.