Books, CDs and Scores to Get Ready for the 12th Annual Hardly Bluegrass Festival Festival

Books, Recordings and Scores to Get Ready for the 12th Annual Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival 2012 on October 5,6,7  in Golden Gate Park

Now in its 12th year, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass is an annual, free festival held in Golden Gate Park during the first weekend of October. When the festival began in 2001, there were only 2 stages, 9 bands performed, and there was still plenty of room to walk around Speedway Meadow. Over the years it has grown to an astounding 6 stages with over 90 acts and estimations of 800,000 in attendance for the three days of the festival. Initially, the festival focused specifically on bluegrass bands and included big names such as Ralph Stanley, Hazel Dickens, Earl Scruggs, and Alison Krauss. More recently, the lineup has expanded far beyond “strictly bluegrass” to include rock groups and musicians such as Elvis Costello, Nick Lowe, Gypsy punk band Gogol Bordello, and even comedian Steve Martin and his band.

This will be the first year of the festival since benefactor and banjo player, Warren Hellman passed away. Luckily, for festival fans, Mr. Hellman’s will has provided for the event's continued funding for at least another decade. Don’t miss this incredible 3 day festival with one of the most impressive lineups of any festival running in recent years. It’s also a good idea to plan what bands you want to catch ahead of time to ensure you beat the crowds while you rush to the next stage. Here are some books and music suggestions available at the San Francisco Public Library to expand your bluegrass repertoire.


Scores

The American Fiddler: Old-time, Bluegrass, Cajun, and Texas Style Fiddle Tunes of the USA, selected and arranged by Edward Huws Jones (Boosey & Hawkes, 1998).

Banjo Song Book: A Collection of Over 75 Bluegrass, Old-time Fiddle, and Classical tunes in Tablature for the 5-string Banjo by Tony Trischka (Oak Publications, 1977).

Monroe Instrumentals: 25 Bill Monroe Favorites (Mel Bay Publications, 2002)

Parking Lot Picker's Songbook: Banjo Edition by Bill Evans & Dix Bruce (Mel Bay Publications, 2007).

Rare Bird Alert by Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers (Homespun Tapes, 2011).

 
Books

Banjo Camp!: Learning, Picking & Jamming with Bluegrass and Old-time Greats by Zhenya Gene Senyak (Lark Books, 2008).
 
The Bill Monroe Reader, edited by Tom Ewing (University of Illinois Press, 2000).

Rural Roots of Bluegrass: Songs, Stories & History by Wayne Erbsen (Native Ground Music, 2003). Also available as a streaming audio book. 

Will The Circle Be Unbroken: Country Music In America, edited By Paul Kinsgbury And Alanna Nash (New York : DK, 2006). 

Working Girl Blues: The Life and Music of Hazel Dickens by Hazel Dickens and Bill C. Malone (University of Illinois Press, 2008)


Recordings

Appalachian Bluegrass Legacy: 25 Vintage Bluegrass & Mountain Classics (Rural Rhythm Records, 2009).
  
Bill Monroe and His Bluegrass Boys: All the Classic Releases, 1937-1949 (JSP Records, 2003).

Classic Bluegrass from Smithsonian Folkways (Smithsonian Folkways Records, 2002). Also available as streaming audio.

The Mountain by Steve Earle and the Del McCoury Band (New West, 2009).

** We have additional recordings by Emmylou Harris, Alison Krauss, Gillian Welch, Doc Watson, Ralph Stanley and other Hardly Strictly Bluegrass favorites.





Online Databases with Streaming Audio

Many wonderful bluegrass and folk recordings are available through our music databases. Go to homepage - sfpl.org.  Select “eLibrary” from the top navigation bar, then “eMusic” from the drop-down menu.  From the eMusic page, the following databases offer a great deal of American folk and down-home music:

American Song
Smithsonian Global Sound for Libraries

What is the Red Book? What is the Blue Book?

Two of our most popular reference books are A Guide Book of United States Coins and Handbook of United States Coins.  These are know to us familiarly as the Red Book and the Blue Book, respectively. 

 Despite their different colors, these books are maddeningly similar.  They share the same author, same editor and same publisher.  They both provide pricing information for United States coins according to year, denomination and mint.  So the question is, which of these references sources should you use and when?

The introduction to the Guide Book (Red Book) states that its aim is to give "retail prices figured data from the listed contributors approximately two months prior to publication."  In other words, the prices in this source are a composite of the prices at which dealers have been selling their coins.  It also describes the reasons why a coin's price might fluctuate.

The front and back covers of the Handbook (Blue Book) boasts that it is the "#1 best-selling book on dealer coin prices."  The introduction of this volume reads: "The values shown are representative prices paid by dealers for various United States coins."  It also notes that "[o]n some issues slight differences in price among dealers may result from proximity to the various mints or heavily populated centers."

The most important single factor in determining the price of a coin is its condition.  Top price is always paid for uncirculated, unblemished coins.  These books both detail the varying degrees of condition of coins from About Good (AG-3) -- "very heavily worn" to "Perfect Uncirculated (MS-70) -- the "finest quality possible." 

So, to sum up: the Guide Book (Red Book) is the approximate price that the coin dealer will sell the coin to you for; the Handbook (Blue Book) is the approximate price that the coin dealer will buy the coin from you for.  Naturally the former price is higher.  A dealer will sell a proof (PF-65) 1996 quarter from the San Francisco mint for $5.00, but will buy it from you for $1.75.  Thus it pays to look at both books to understand how to get the best price for your coins.

We receive new editions of both of these books annually - our old copy of both of these books in 1953.  Having a large range of years can help the collector understand the fluctuation of coin values over the years and also can help an appraiser understand the historic value of coins.


A Guide Book of United States Coins (Western Pub. Co., annual).

Handbook of United States Coins: With Premium List (Western Pub. Co., Whitman Hobby Division, annual)

The Complete Costume Dictionary

The Complete Costume Dictionary is a comprehensive dictionary of international terminology for costume and dress. It covers clothing worn from as far back as 4000 BCE and up to the present. Although the range and quantity of articles of clothing and styles covered is vast, this is not, however, a source that covers couturiers and fashion houses.

The Dictionary includes a limited number of black and white illustrations. The section following the main body of the dictionary additionally includes color illustrations of some of these black and white illustrations featured. This is a weakness; it would make more sense to feature other illustrations showing greater detail. The illustrations that are not public domain and credited to Dover are rudimentary, one doesn’t get much more out of them in the color version, except that the illustrator learned how to render a color gradient. The author on her webpage states that she hopes to make larger images available to owners of the book, but as of this writing they are not yet available.

In a book covering such a vast, international vocabulary there are bound to be some issues with orthography. For instance the Vietnamese words for raincoat - áo mưa and áo đi mưa are rendered as áo muta and áo ði mura respectively (with an Icelandic "ð" in the latter). Thus, readers should use extra caution with foreign terminology in this reference.

The back matter includes several extensive appendices. Appendix A is an index of garments by type. In Appendix B clothing is grouped by country or region. Appendix C groups terminology of Western costume starting with Egyptian civilization (4000-30 BCE) all the way through the twentieth century. There is also a selective biography.

Librarians always remember the stumpers. A patron had been looking for the definition of aerophane. I hadn’t been able to find it in any of the print dictionaries, but was rewarded when I looked in the online Oxford English Dictionary. However, a quick check to The Complete Costume Dictionary shows this very fine definition with a description and historical context:

aerophane: Directoire and First Empire (1790-1815 CE). Introduced in 1820, a fine crimped crepe.

Despite the weaknesses noted above, this is a great resource for fashion design students.


The Complete Costume Dictionary by Elizabeth J. Lewandowski (Scarecrow Press, Inc., 2011).

The Motion Picture Guide

With the ubiquity of the internet and popularity of the Internet Movie Database, it's easy to forget that there are many excellent film reference sources available only in print.

One of the best is the The Motion Picture Guide by Jay Robert Nash and Stanley Ralph Ross.  Interestingly, for a period of time the text of this encyclopedia was online over a decade ago as part of the TV Guide's website.  One also suspects that online resources like the IMDB and the Wikipedia have poached liberally from this source.

The Motion Picture Guide was originally published serially in nine volumes A-Z, plus a volume for silent films and two indexes. These volumes cover films from 1910 to 1983.  The final volume of the original set also included a supplement for the films of 1984.  Nash and Ross continued to publish annual volumes for every year up to 1998.

This encyclopedia gives the film's title, a lengthy (though not exhaustive) list of cast members, its year of release, running time, the production company, whether the film was black and white or color, its MPAA rating and its genre.  For foreign films they point out whether subtitles or dubbing are used in the American version.

Most importantly the Guide rates each film on a scale from 0-5 and provides a thoughtful synopsis and review of each film.  Some of these synopses are as short as a sentence, others as long as a page.

The production credits include information about the screenwriting and any literary source.  They also provide the name of the music director, the name of any songs or notable music used in the film as well the songwriters and lyricists for this music.

As a good encyclopedic source should, the Motion Picture Guide also includes extensive indexes by country, distributor, genre, MPAA rating, and parental recommendation.  Of course there is indexing by name, for actors, art directors, associate producers, casting, choreographers, cinematographers, co-producers, costumes, directors, editors, executive producers, makeup/FX makeup, music composers, producers, production designers, screenwriters, sound, source authors, special effects, and stunts, 

The Motion Picture Guide by Jay Robert Nash and Stanley Ralph Ross (Cinebooks, 1985-1987).

The Motion Picture Guide ... Annual (CineBooks, 1987-1998)

Opera Preview Lectures - Rigoletto

"Over the summer sea," music by Giuseppe Verdi (J. Davison, 1855)

On Wednesday evening, August 28, 2012, we'll inaugurate our annual San Francisco Opera Preview lectures with Giuseppe Verdi's Rigoletto.  UC Santa Barbara musicologist Derek Katz will discuss the historic and musical background as well as present excerpts of the work.

This event, presented in conjunction with the San Francisco Opera Guild, will be presented at 12:00 noon at the Koret Auditorium in the Lower Level of the Main Library.  All Library programs are free.


The Cambridge Companion to Verdi, edited by Scott L. Balthazar (Cambridge University Press, 2004).

Losing the Plot in Opera: Myths and Secrets of the World's Great Operas by Brian Castles-Onion (Metro, 2009).

The New Grove Guide to Verdi and His Operas by Roger Parker (Oxford University Press, 2007).

Nine Famous Operas: What's Really Going On! by Iris J. Arnesen (McFarland & Co., 2010).

Opera Psychotherapy by Bartalini (Exposition Press, 1981).

Operas of Verdi, vol. 1 by Julian Budden (Praeger, 1973)

Rigoletto: A Guide to the Opera by Charles Osborne (Barrie & Jenkins, 1979).

Rigoletto [libretto] by Giuseppe Verdi (Riverrun Press, 1982).

Verdi by Julian Budden (Oxford University Press, 2008).

Know Your SFPL Call Numbers - 785.725

Juan Gris, Violin and Guitar (source: Wikipaintings)

Musicians perform together in every imaginable combination.  A library like ours tries to purchase, catalog and organize scores and parts to allow chamber musicians to gather, play and perform together.

Chamber music presents an interesting challenge for the music cataloger because of the variety of possible combinations of instrumentalists.

The San Francisco Public Library uses the 785.7 as a suffix for most chamber music with parts.  The following decimal places indicates the number of players.  Thus 785.72 is the basic call number for instrumental duets, 785.73 for trios, up to 785.79 for nonets and beyond.

Taking the call number out an additional decimal places fine tunes the instrumentation even furthers, according to the instrumental families that the performing instruments belong to - strings, winds, plucked strings, keyboard and percussion.  We have created a webpage that provides an outline of these numbers.

The call number 785.725 corresponds to duets for a bowed string instrument and a plucked string instrument.  Bowed instruments include the instruments of the string section of the orchestra - violin, viola, cello and double bass.  Plucked string instruments include the guitar, harp, lute, mandolin and zither.

Examples of compositions in this call number are works for viola and harp (Fantasy Sonata by Arnold Bax), violin and harp (Fantaisie, op 125 by Camille Saint-Saëns and Sonata Concertante, opus 113 by Ludwig Spohr), cello and guitar (Rainforest Canticles by Dusan Bogdanovic). 

The most typical combination in this call number is violin and guitar. The Library of Congress catalog headings for this music are: Violin and guitar music or Sonatas (Violin and guitar).

Many of these compositions also work for flute and guitar. Our collection includes the following works.

Acht leichte Duos für Flöte oder Violine und Gitarre [Eight Easy Duos for Flute or Violin and Guitar] (Zimmermann, 1980) - includes arrangements of Adagio by Leonhard von Call, Menuett by Francois Hünten, Allegretto and Serenade by Fernando Carulli, Siciliano and Walzer by Gottlieb Heinrich Köhler, Menuett by Charles Doisy, and Allegro by Kaspar Fürstenau.
785.726 XAc

Dances in the Madhouse: For Violin (or Flute/Piccolo) and Guitar by David Leisner.
Publication Info.    Bryn Mawr, Pa. : Merion Music : T. Presser, sole representative, c1987.
785.725 Le

Nocturne op. 38 für Flöte (Violine) und Gitarre [Nocture op. 38 for Flute (Violin) and Guitar] by Francesco Molino (Breitkopf & Härtel, 1976).
785.726 XMo

Leichte und vergnügliche Stücke für Flöte (Violine) und Gitarre, op. 74 [Easy and Enjoyable Pieces: for Flute (Violin) and Guitar, op. 74 by Mauro Giuliani (Universal Edition, 1984).
785.726 XGi

Musique d'ambiance [Cocktail music], arranged by David Jacques for violin (or other melody instrument) and guitar (Productions d'Oz, c2007). Volume 1 contains Artist's life waltz and Tales from the Vienna Woods by Johann Strauss II, Barcarolle by Jacques Offenbach, Habanera by Georges Bizet, Merry Widow Waltz by Franz Lehar, Liebestraum by Franz Liszt, Plaisir d'amour by Martini, Menuet by Luigi Boccherini, La paloma by Yradier, Skater's Waltz by Emil Waldteufel, O sole mio! by di Capua, Santa Lucia, Tango by Isaac Albéniz, Valse, opus 69, no. 2 by Frederik Chopin, Valse lente by Leo Delibes, Valse des fleurs by Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky, and Wedding day by Edvard Grieg.  Volume 2 contains Aura Lee, Hungarian Dances nos. 4 and 5 and Valse by Johannes Brahms, Slavic Dance no. 10 by Anton Dvořák, Two Guitars, Black Eyes, La donna è mobile and Libiamo by Giuseppe Verdi, Schön Rosmarin by Fritz Kreisler, Solveig's song by Edvard Grieg, Tesoro mio by Becucci, Emperor Waltz and You and You by Johann Strauss II, and Vienna, My City of Dreams by Rudolph Sieczynski.
785.725 M97431

Musique de cérémonie [Ceremonial music] arranged David Jacques for violin (or other melody instrument) and guitar (Productions d'Oz, c2007).  Volume 1 contains Adagio by Albinoni, Air on a G string and Arioso by J.S. Bach, "Air" (from Water music), Canticorum jubilo, Largo, Lascia ch'io pianga by Handel, Ave Maria by Bach / Gounod, Ave Maria by Schubert, Ave verum corpus and Laudate Dominum by Mozart, Canon by Pachelbel, "Winter" and "Spring" from The Seasons by Vivaldi, Wedding March by Mendelssohn, Bridal Chorus by Wagner, Meditation from Thais by Massenet, O mio babbino caro by Puccini, and Panis angelicus by Franck.
785.725 M97432

Six Sonatas, opus 3, for violin and guitar by Niccolò Paganini (Warner Bros. Publications, 2004).
785.725 P14s3 2004

Sonata Concertata: for violin and guitar by Niccolo Paganini (Masters Music Publications, 1989).
785.725 P14s61

Umbrian Colors: for violin and guitar by Barbara Kolb (Boosey & Hawkes, 1989).
785.725 K83u

12 ungarische national Tänze: op. 16 [12 Hungarian National Dances] by Anton Diabelli (Ut Orpheus, 2010).
785.725 D5401u

The Plastic in Question - A Bibliography

A bibliography on salvage and found objects in arts and crafts

1000 Ideas for Creative Reuse: Remake, Restyle, Recycle, Renew by Garth Johnson (Quarry Books, 2009).
745.5 j6321o 

Alabama Studio Style: More Projects, Recipes & Stories Celebrating Sustainable Fashion & Living by Natalie Chanin (Stewart, Tabori & Chang, 2010).
745.5 C36294a 

Art at the Dump: the Artist in Residence Program and Environmental Learning Center at Recology (Recology 2010).
700.4556 Ar751 

Art from Found Materials, Discarded and Natural by Maryl Lou Stribling (Crown, 1970).
745 St84a 

Book Art: Iconic Sculptures and Installations Made from Books, edited by Paul Sloman (Gestalten, 2011).
735.24 B64419

Collage and Found Art by Dona Meilach (Reinhold Pub. Corp., 1964).
751.4 M476c 

Collage, Assemblage, and the Found Object by Diane Waldman (Abrams, 1992).
REF 709.04 W146c 

Creative Recycling in Embroidery by Val Holmes (Sterling Publishing Co., 2006).
746.44 H739c

Eco-Craft: Recycle, Recraft, Restyle by Susan Wasinger (Lark Books, 2009).
745.5 W28e 

Fabulous Jewelry from Found Objects: Creative Projects, Simple Techniques by Marthe Le Van (Lark Books, 2005).
745.5942 L575f 

Found Art Mosaics by Susan Germond (Sterling Pub. Co., 2007).
738.5 G318f 

The Found Object in Textile Art by Cas Holmes (Interweave Press, 2010).
746 H734f 

Gardens of Revelation: Environments by Visionary Artists by John Beardsley (Abbeville Press, 1995).
709.04 B38g 

The Invented Camera: Low Tech Photography & Sculpture by Jo Babcock (Freedom Voices, 2005).
779 B114i

Jewelry Upcycled! Techniques and Projects for Reusing Metal, Glass, Plastic, Fiber, and Found Objects by Sherri Haab (Potter Craft, 2011).
745.5942 H11j 

Junk Jewelry: 25 Extraordinary Designs to Create from Ordinary Objects by Jane Eldershaw (Potter Craft, 2011).
745.5942 H11j

Junk to Jewelry: A Step-by-step Guide to Using Found Objects in Jewelry You Can Actually Wear by Brenda Schweder (Kalmbach Pub., 2007).
745.5942 Sch971j

The Lampshade Lady's Guide to Lighting Up Your Life: 50 Custom Lampshades & Lamps by Judy Lake (Potter Craft, 2009).
745.5932 L1486L 

Moving Rooms: The Trade in Architectural Salvages by John Harris (Yale University Press, 2007).
REF 745.0288 H2423m

The New Jewelry: Contemporary Materials & Techniques by Carles Codina (Lark Books, 2005).
745.5942 C6489n 

Re-Creative: 50 Projects for Turning Found Items into Contemporary Design by Steve Dodds (Home, 2006).
TEEN 745.5 DODD 

Rivers and Tides: Andy Goldsworthy Working With Time, directed by Thomas Riedelsheimer (Docurama, 2004).
DVD 702.8 RIVE 

Rubbish! Reuse Your Refuse by Kate Shoup (Wiley Pub., 2008).
745.5 Sh825r

The Salvage Sisters' Guide to Finding Style in the Street and Inspiration in the Attic by Kathleen Hackett (Artisan, 2005).
745.5 H1158s 

Self-Made Worlds: Visionary Folk Art Environments by Roger Manley (Aperture, 1997).
709.0407 M314s 

Trash, From Junk To Art, edited by Lea Vergine (Gingko Press, c1997).
REF 709.04 T69

Trash Origami: 25 Paper Folding Projects Reusing Everyday Materials by Michael G. LaFosse (Tuttle Pub., 2010).
736.982 L1344t 

Waste Land, directed by Lucy Walker (Arthouse Films, 2011).
DVD 702.814 WAST