RSF investment in interdisciplinary music scholarship

Catrina is an experienced educator, researcher and research supervisor who has been awarded several prestigious grants, including from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) and Fonds de recherche du Québec – Société et culture (FRQSC). She has also chaired and served on numerous adjudication committees for both research funding agencies. As such, she was well-qualified to recommend a resource offering easily-accessible and highly-reliable information to support research in the field of music and beyond.

Catrina emphasized that the RILM database is curated by music scholars and librarians, offering unique, multilingual sources with abstracts always available in English and French. She also noted the database’s value for targeted searches across music and related interdisciplinary fields, including theatre and performing arts, literature, sociology, feminist studies, critical theory, civil history, mathematics and even medicine – citing faculty member Marlene Eberhart’s involvement in a project on music and the medical humanities as an example.

Furthermore, Catrina explained that RILM could support students studying Music or in programs other than Music at Vanier. For instance, students enrolled in complementary Music courses (such as world music, jazz, rock and roll, and women and music), or those taking courses offered by their respective programs (such as indigenous music and dance, the psychology of music, and the sociology of music). She stated: “More broadly, students registered in courses that touch on aspects of history, culture, literature, politics (think protest songs here), race, identity, and gender may also benefit from access to RILM.”

Catrina stressed the need for Vanier faculty and students to have their own institutional access to RILM, rather than relying on university contacts. She noted that regular access to scholarly literature is vital for staying current, inspiring new ideas, and preparing research grants across all areas of music. She mentioned that: “Teachers, researchers and students require free and regular access to the literature to stay abreast of new developments and approaches in the field, to provide fodder and stimulation for the imagination, and to develop the essential ‘bottom drawer’ of ideas for future development. RILM also helps music and non-music program students engage with reliable research content in the field.”

Following positive feedback received in 2024-2025, Vanier College has renewed its subscription to the RILM Abstracts of Music Literature for the current fiscal year. Supported by a portion of our 2025-2026 RSF, the resource continues to be available via the Vanier College Library, which is overseen by Caroline Fodor, Learning Commons Coordinator.

Investment area: Research resources

Investment year: 2024-25

Pictured from left to right: Sandrina Joseph, Catrina Flint, Angela Vavassis, Caroline Fodor.