Journal profile · Arts and Humanities-Music
Music Reference Services Quarterly
ISSN 1058-8167 · eISSN 1540-9503 · Taylor & Francis
Music Reference Services Quarterly: subscription journal; APC charged, amount not published; median 54 days to acceptance (21 articles, last 24 months); acceptance rate 50% (journal website); 21 articles in 2025; indexed in Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Music Reference Services Quarterly is published by Taylor & Francis. By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Musicology and Musical Analysis, Music History and Culture and Library Science and Information, together about 47.9% of its articles. Its main subfields are Music and Information Systems. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Music Reference Services Quarterly is a refereed journal covering all aspects of the management and use of music collections and services in academic, orchestra, public, conservatory, and performing/fine arts libraries, as well as archives and museums. The Journal emphasizes research related to administration and management, bibliographic instruction, collection development, digital audio delivery, electronic resources, facilities, music librarianship education, preservation of music materials, reference services, cataloging, and bibliographies relating to printed music and audio-visual materials. The Journal publishes conceptual papers, literature reviews, practical case studies and opinion pieces. Regular columns include electronic resource reviews, book reviews and interviews. Peer Review Policy: Manuscripts submitted to this journal undergo editorial screening and anonymous double anonymized peer review.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Arts and Humanities-Music
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named United States 19, United Kingdom 1, Spain 1, Canada 1, Greece 1 (23 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Musicology and Musical AnalysisArts and Humanities23.2%
- Music History and CultureArts and Humanities14.7%
- Library Science and InformationComputer Science10.1%
- Theater, Performance, and Music HistoryArts and Humanities6.3%
- Library Science and Information LiteracySocial Sciences5.5%
- Digital and Traditional Archives ManagementArts and Humanities5.1%
- Library Collection Development and Digital ResourcesComputer Science5.1%
- Literature, Musicology, and Cultural AnalysisSocial Sciences4.9%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
CiteScore quartiles (Scopus, June 2026 release)
| Subject | Quartile | Rank | Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Music | Q2 | 63/196 | 68th |
| Library and Information Sciences | Q3 | 197/296 | 33rd |
Scopus ranks journals by CiteScore within each subject: the 75th percentile and above is Q1, then a quartile every 25 points. A different system from the CAS zones.LetPub
JCR / CiteScore quartiles on the journal's website
- CiteScore Q2 · 2025
Publisher-reported: JCR figures are Clarivate's and CiteScore figures Scopus's to confirm; both are a different system from the CAS zones.Publisher website
Database indexing
ScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
ProQuest, OCLC, De Gruyter Saur, EBSCOhost, Academic Search Complete, Current Abstracts, H.W. Wilson, Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts (LISTA), MasterFILE Complete, Music Index, RILM Abstracts of Music LIterature, TOC Premier, Elsevier BV, ArticleFirst, Electronic Collections Online, British Humanities Index, LISA: Library & Information Science AbstractsPublisher website
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 0.8LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 0.8Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.13LetPub ·
- SJR (publisher) 2025
- 0.13Publisher website ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0LetPub ·
- SNIP (publisher) 2025
- 0.13Publisher website ·
- h-index
- 20OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 46OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 0.14OpenAlex ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 0%LetPub ·
Volume
- Downloads per year (publisher)
- 13,000Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 974 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 23 | 8 | 25 |
| 2025 | 21 | 5 | 142 |
| 2024 | 29 | 2 | 231 |
| 2023 | 27 | 2 | 265 |
| 2022 | 38 | 1 | 287 |
| 2021 | 30 | 0 | 140 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with Crossref · to
54 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 7 days – 106 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 23 days (21 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 86 days
- Sample
- 21 articles with submission and acceptance dates (42 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Other sources
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 50%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 6 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Double anonymous peer reviewPublisher website
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Subscription journalLetPub
A subscription journal: articles are read by subscription or purchase, and authors usually pay no publication charge.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Publisher website | Yes, amount not published | — | — |
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
Article types accepted7
- book reviewBook Review | Published online: 3 Sep 2026Length not stated
- conceptual papersThe Journal publishes conceptual papers, literature reviews, practical case studies and opinion pieces.Length not stated
- essayEssay | Published online: 30 Mar 2026Length not stated
- literature reviewsThe Journal publishes conceptual papers, literature reviews, practical case studies and opinion pieces.Length not stated
- opinion piecesThe Journal publishes conceptual papers, literature reviews, practical case studies and opinion pieces.Length not stated
- practical case studiesThe Journal publishes conceptual papers, literature reviews, practical case studies and opinion pieces.Length not stated
- research articleResearch Article | Published online: 21 Jul 2026Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteOpen access, Peer review
- Open access Open access
Music Reference Services Quarterly is a hybrid open access journal that is part of the Taylor & Francis Open Select publishing program, giving you the option to publish open access. Publishing open access means that your article will be free to access online immediately on publication, increasing the visibility, readership, and impact of your research. Why choose open access? Increase the discover…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review
Manuscripts submitted to this journal undergo editorial screening and anonymous double anonymized peer review. Model summary
Manuscripts submitted to this journal undergo editorial screening and anonymous double anonymized peer review.
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Taylor & Francis
- ISSN
- 1058-8167
- Electronic ISSN
- 1540-9503
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 29, Issue 3 (2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Music Reference Services Quarterly
How long does peer review take at Music Reference Services Quarterly?
Based on the dates recorded on 21 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 54 days (interquartile range 7–106 days); the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 50%. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
Where are the editorial board members of Music Reference Services Quarterly based?
Of the 23 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (19), United Kingdom (1) and Spain (1). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Music Reference Services Quarterly?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Music Reference Services Quarterly is indexed in Scopus.
Is Music Reference Services Quarterly open access, and what is the APC?
Music Reference Services Quarterly is a subscription journal. APC charged, amount not published.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-26). Last updated: .