Center for Black Music Research

The Center for Black Music Research (CBMR) is a research unit of Columbia College Chicago. The Center was founded in 1983 by Samuel A. Floyd Jr. to address the need for an integrated approach to the study of black music that encompasses the arts and humanities as well as social, political, and historical approaches to scholarship. To this end, the Center documents, collects, preserves, and disseminates information about black music in all parts of the world and promotes understanding of the common roots of the music, musicians, and composers of the global African diaspora.

The activities of the Center include research, education, and outreach programming as well as performance programming and publications. Past events include conferences, concerts, and lectures in various U.S. cities as well as the Caribbean islands of St. John, St. Croix, St. Thomas, and Trinidad. These events as well as CBMR's Library and Archives are open to the public

In 1987, CBMR selected STAR to manage their collection, which includes an extensive catalog of black music (over 22,000 records) and a catalog that covers the biographies, skills, and training of black musicians. The Musicians database is used as a recruiting tool, on a subscription basis, by orchestras, symphonies and ensembles.

Their general collection is available to the public on the Internet and offers several means of searching their extensive holdings, which include books, dissertations, printed music, manuscript scores, recordings, and vertical file materials. Each record has links to related records based on subject, author, composer, and other topics.

Additional resources such as an online bookstore, informational services, and a "Today in Black Music History" feature can also be found at CBMR's website.

URL: http://www.cbmr.org