Chicago Symphony Orchestra's Online Catalog

["Nelson-Strauss, Brenda" <BNelson-Strauss@xxxxxxx>]

I'm pleased to announce via the following press release the availability of
our new online catalog.  Comments and suggestions are most welcome. Please
note- commercial sound recordings are currently not included in our online
catalog, but will be added in the near future.  

Brenda Nelson-Strauss
Director, Rosenthal Archives

THE CHICAGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA LAUNCHES THEODORE--THE ONLINE CATALOG OF THE
ROSENTHAL ARCHIVES

THEODORE, the online catalog of holdings in the Samuel R. and Marie Louise
Rosenthal Archives of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra is now available to the
public via the CSO's Web site at www.cso.org/atc_archives.taf. The catalog
lists over 15,000 items, including corporate records, photographs, moving
images, oral histories, radio broadcasts, non-commercial sound recordings,
and various special collections. 

Funded by a generous grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities,
the three-year undertaking incorporates the majority of holdings currently
housed in the Archives. Several large music collections are represented,
including nearly 100 scores marked by Fritz Reiner, 130 original
compositions and arrangements by Frederick Stock, and over 300 manuscript
scores and parts from Theodore Thomas's extensive orchestra library. 

These collections and thousands of other items are now fully searchable
using THEODORE. The online catalog may be searched using any combination of
keyword, name, format, date, and composer or work. The Word Wheel buttons
for each search field allow users to paste names, formats, subjects, and
works from drop down lists while also indicating the number of records that
will be retrieved by each term. Additionally, finding aids linked to the
Scope of the Collection page offer detailed information on each record group
and series as well as specific tips for searching by series code.  Using
this unique feature of THEODORE , users can retrieve a complete list of
holdings for each series in container order. 

Original materials may be accessed in the Rosenthal Archives' reading room,
located in Symphony Center.  The Rosenthal Archives is open to the public
between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, with
the exception of major holidays. Advance appointments are requested, though
every attempt will be made to accommodate walk-ins. The Archives provides
free reference services to subscribers and the general public as long as
requests are limited to general questions about past conductors, guest
artists, repertory, musicians, recordings, etc., that can be answered
quickly using existing finding aids and the online catalog. Requests for
more extensive research are subject to an hourly research fee. 

For additional information or to order a free brochure, please contact: 

The Rosenthal Archives 
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
220 South Michigan Avenue
Chicago, IL 60604
Telephone: (312) 294-3055 
Fax: (312) 294-3056 
E-mail: Archives@xxxxxxx