The Music and Performing Arts library has a collection of more than 46,000 catalogued scores and libretti and 20,000 indexed song sheets. You can choose from a range of opera, jazz, folk, rock and classical music. Books, journals, microforms and CD-ROMs provide you with other music related information. A collection of over 2,500 cassettes, including music by leading classical and contemporary composers, as well as jazz & blues and music from many regions of the world, is available for loan. Over 11,000 vinyl and compact discs are available for listening. From medieval to modern there will be something to help you discover and research the vast world of music.

Membership of the Music and Performing Arts library is available free of charge to all residents of the Perth metropolitan area. As a member of our library, you are part of a network of 9,000 people wishing to share the valuable musical resources we stock. Scores, plays and cassettes are available for loan.

Highlights of the Music and Performing Arts library include:

Western Australian Music
As well as an extensive range of music gleaned from all corners of the globe, the collection has recently focused on Western Australia's music heritage on sound disc.

Vocal Music Collection
Whether you enjoy the close harmony of a barbershop quartet, groove along in a jazz ensemble or are learning your first Messiah come to us and browse our collection. Our collection of opera scores is comprehensive in both repertoire and language. For the budding baritone or bass, the sensational soprano or the mellifluous mezzo, we have collections of arias in a particular vocal range. If you are auditioning for a musical we have an extensive range of musicals and librettos including some recent additions such as the latest Lloyd-Webber: The Beautiful Game and The Civil War by Frank Wildhorn. The world of Lieder, art song and oratorio is opened up to the recitalist with our extensive range of classical scores for all voice types. A comprehensive collection of folk songs from all around the world is part of the wonderful resource of the vocal collection. If the world of pop music is more your style we have an abundance of popular songs in song sheets and anthologies from 10cc to ZZ Top.

Eleanor Litterick Collection
In the 1980s well known Perth performer, Mrs Eleanor Litterick donated a collection of 10,000 pieces of sheet music to the Music and Performing Arts library. This collection of 20th century sheet music is housed separately in the stack and  the collection has been named in her honour. Mrs Litterick was well known for the concert parties and revues which she organised. These were held in high regard and her collection of music is legendary amongst Perth musicians.

Instrumental Music Collection
After meeting Queen Victoria in 1855, Richard Wagner wrote to his wife "She doesn't like instrumental music and only attends long concerts like these to please her husband." ( Musical quotes and anecdotes )  We hope you do not share Queen Victoria's alleged dislike of instrumental music, because the instrumental music collection and information about the instruments themselves are well represented in the Music and Performing Arts library. The scores available for loan are arranged for solo instruments, small ensemble groupings or orchestral groups.

Orchestral Music Collection
Irving Berlin may indeed "...love a piano", but an orchestral ensemble in full swing is an awesome thing. The orchestral music collection in the Music and Performing Arts library covers the standard symphonic repertoire and is separated into two formats: miniature scores (over 3,000 items) and performing sets (over 1,000 sets). The performing sets also include light classics by Strauss and Edward German as well as arrangements of popular songs by famous artists like the Beatles and Lloyd Webber. A listing of orchestral sets, that are available to borrow from the Music and Performing Arts Library, has been created to easily browse the collection online. The list includes popular and classical repertoire for a full or chamber orchestra but excludes string orchestra and jazz ensemble.  It is organised in composer then title order.

Concert Band Collection
For those with a yen for something without strings, there is a growing collection of material for concert band. In this area, popular works, including film and television themes, outnumber the classical repertoire. Of special interest is a large collection of dance band music from the 20's to 40's donated by a local enthusiast - over 2,500 items for small ensembles of three to five players are now listed online.

Prompt Copy
Prompt Copy is the name of our impressive collection of over 4,000 plays and film scripts collected by the State Library since the 1960s. The collection is broad in its scope and covers Greek tragedy to Restoration comedy, modern classics by Pirandello, Brecht and Pinter, contemporary comedies by Neil Simon, Alan Ayckbourn, Wendy Wasserstein and Ben Elton. Australian drama is well represented,  from Jack Davis to David Williamson and Nick Enright. There are over 500 Australian plays in the collection which are listed in author or title order for your convenience.  The name Prompt Copy acts as a synonym to the service you can expect when requesting plays. The plays and play sets are available for loan to members of the Music and Performing Arts library. Performance sets are available for critically acclaimed mainstream plays, pantomimes and popular Australian works. Each set contains sufficient copies for cast members and the director, or a maximum of eight copies where cast size cannot be determined.