Theodore Front

Along with Harrassowitz, Theodore Front Musical Literature is probably the biggest vendor for music materials that the library uses to procure both text and sound recordings.  They were the first company to introduce approval plans for sound recordings in the 1970s for the Library of Congress (according to their brochure) and now, over 40 years later, our music library has a similar approval plan with them.

Theodore Front recently bought Arkiv Music, which I'll talk about at a later date, but they are our primary vendor for sound recordings and video.  Because we have an approval plan with them, the library receives a 10% discount off the manufacturer's suggested list price.

Their website, from which I am often ordering now, is fairly easy to use, save that sometimes the same number is assigned to multiple sound recordings -- but thankfully I am well aware from the get-go which disc it is that I am actually out to purchase.