The recent note about the Online Ballad Index reminds me that people may 
like to know about two of my own indexing projects. For some years, I 
have been working on two major song databases - FOLKSONG INDEX and 
BROADSIDE INDEX. These are organised on very different lines to your 
Online Ballad Index, and I hope they will not be seen as in competition 
with each other.
FOLKSONG INDEX covers traditional songs (including ballads) from the 
English-speaking world, indexing books, published recordings, and 
unpublished collections. Entered details include Song title, First line, 
Source reference (the book or record the song appears in, and where 
they got it from), name of singer, place and date of collection, Child or 
Laws number, author & date of composition (if known), the 
presence/absence of a tune, brief details of editorial 'tampering' and, 
sometimes, key-words or plot synopsis. My own master numbering system 
enables the enquirer to find all versions of a particular song, 
regardless of variant titles.
The database is searchable/sortable by any field, and at present stands 
at nearly 76,000 references.
Its companion, the BROADISIDE INDEX, includes all the songs printed on 
broadsides, chapbooks and popular songsters and at present stands at 
about 65,000 entries. This index is particularly useful for historical 
research, for example by helping with dating of songs.
Both indexes grow daily.
The indexes are not available online, but interested people can subscribe 
to a scheme whereby you have the data to run on your own PC, or you can 
use one of the publicly-accessible copies at the Vaughan Williams Library 
in London, or ITMA (Irish Trad Music Archives) in Dublin. If anyone in 
the US, Canada or Australia wants to persuade their institution to 
subscribe, that would help tremendously in spreading access to what will 
eventually be an essential reference tool for people in our field(s).
Anyone who wants further information, please Email me your POSTAL ADDRESS 
and I will send you some stuff.
Regards,
Steve Roud  ([log in to unmask])



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