Accessing the database

• The database URL is http://iismc.cini.it/.

Search example: punk

1. Searching by “Author” [Search by Words in Title / Keywords]

Let's say you want to find details of Dave Laing's classic book on the subject.
You can't remember its title, just the fact that it's by Laing.

• Enter Laing in the field to the left of "Authors" and press "Find".
• Scroll down the list of texts by Laing until you find a title relevant to punk.
  You should find One Chord Wonders. Power and Meaning in Punk Rock, published in 1985.

• Click once on the actual title shown to view all bibliographical details. You should see:

• To copy these details into you bibliography, follow these instructions (shown later).
• Close the popup window showing the details.

2. Searching by “Words in the title” [Search by Author / Keywords]

• Click arrow to right of "Authors" and select "Words in title".
  
• Enter punk in search field to the left of "Words in title"
  and press "Find"
  
  

• You should see a list of titles like this:

• If you want to know more about, say, title #3 (by O'Connor), click once on the actual title (starting "Popular Music, 21/2") and a popup window should show you something like this:
  
  

If you read the article and want to draw on it or quote something from it, you'll need to reference this text correctly in your work. To copy and paste such information, proceed as follows:

• Select the basic bibliographical details shown at the top of the popup window (highlighted here in blue)

• Use your computer's Copy facility (e.g. Cntrl-C in Windows).
• Open your word processing software (here Word) and use your computer's Paste facility
  (e.g. Cntrl-V in Windows) to insert the text into your document.

• Edit the pasted text so it conforms with norms of bibliographical presentation
  (e.g. as set out in Tagg's Tips, section 11.2.2 - 11.2.3., pp. 78-81), like this:

• Close the bibliographical details popup window.

3. Searching by “Keyword” [Search by Words in Title / Author]

• Click arrow to right of "Authors" or "Words in title" and select "Keywords"
  
  
• Enter "punk" in search field on the left of "Keywords" and press "Find".
  You will see a list of titles flagged with the keyword PUNK, like this.

• If you want to know more about any of the titles displayed, click on the actual title, as explained here. If you want to copy and paste bibliographical details from the database, follow these instructions.

Submissions

Is it already there?

Before submitting a new entry, you must use any of the Search methods explained above to CHECK IF IT ALREADY EXISTS IN THE DATABASE! If the title is already there and if its details seem correct to you, fine! If it's not there, click here!

It's in the database but the details are wrong or incomplete

If you have editing permission, go ahead and edit! If you don't have editing permission, please use the Message part of this form. In the form's Message section please enter the word CORRECTION, followed by the correct bibliographical details of the work in question. Please also fill in your name and email address; then press Send.

If you want to help by becoming a certified database contributor and/or editor, click here. Just use the form's Message section to state your willingness to help, adding a very brief description of your popular music studies specialities and of your language skills.

Adding new items to the database

Assuming the title[s] you want to add isn’t/aren’t already in the database, go to the site's initial search page and, instead of entering something in the Search window, click SUBMIT.

Clicking SUBMIT should produce something like this:

In this example, Karl Marx, the submitter, has yet to decide if the item he’s adding is a single-work volume (typically a book with the same author[s] all the way through) or if he’s adding a volume containing separate articles, each with its own title. If he’s adding details of a particular journal volume, or if it’s a collection of essays, an encyclopaedia volume, a volume of conference proceedings, etc., he will check the second of the two radio buttons (to see how that works, click here). However, Karl has a single-work volume he wants to add first, so he checks the first radio button and then the Continue with data entry button. That brings up the following form which Charlie has filled like this:

SINGLE-WORK ENTRY EXAMPLE

Having submitted data for this single-title book of dubious value, Karl wants to add details of articles in a Swedish jazz journal. He first clicks Save this data in the form just shown and returns to the previous screen where he checks the second option (Several articles, entries, essays, etc.). That brings up the same form to fill in, except that he has correctly filled it in like this:

MULTIPLE-WORK ENTRY EXAMPLE

Now Charlie wants to fill in details for the other 14 articles in the same volume but he doesn’t want to have to re-enter all the data that applies to all 15 articles in the same volume (journal title, country of publication, publication year, etc.). Well, he won’t have to do that because, after clicking Save this data and Continue with data entry, the data he has just filled in for the first article remains in tact on screen. So, all he has to do is change the data that varies from one entry to another — the author[s] (unless it's a collection of separate essays by the same author[s]), the article title, the start and end page numbers, some keywords, the English translation (if required), maybe the original production year, etc. So he goes on like that until he completes entering details for the last article in the volume. Then, after Save this data, he can finally press the button Close this volume and have a beer.

Post-submission

If you are a certified submitter and vetter, your submitted entries will be automatically included in the database. If not, it will be checked by whoever is responsible for the relevant language and/or subject area. If that person thinks your submission is OK, it’ll be added to the database.

Correcting data

We don’t [yet] have a Wikipedia system of annotation in place. So, if you discover errors in the data online, please:

• • Don’t be alarmed. I started the database for my own benefit and I often make mistakes.
• • If you have editing permission please correct the errors you find.
• • If you don't have editing permission, please use the Message part of this form to inform us of errors and/or omissions. In the form's Message section please type the word CORRECTION, followed by the correct bibliographical details of the work in question. Please also fill in your name and email address; then press Send.

If you want to help by becoming a certified database contributor and/or editor, click here. Just use the form's Message section to state your willingness to help, adding a very brief description of your popular music studies specialities and of your language skills.