Sigla are well established for musical resources in libraries and archives through the widely-used scheme of RISM, established in 1964. This comparable system for instrument collections will be of use in reference works and other publications which cite numerous instruments  in museum and private collections.

Sigla for Musical Instrument Collections

The preparation of a new edition of the Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments was the stimulus to develop instrument collection sigla.  The system of sigla is comparable to those of RISM sigla for libraries.  The structure, length and level of mnemonic value are the same, but to avoid confusion between the two systems, sigla for instrument collections are differently punctuated.

Further sigla needed for any purpose can be created on request to Arnold Myers (A.Myers (at) ed.ac.uk).  In the case of future changes of collection name or ownership, cross-references from the old sigla will be made thus ensuring the necessary permanence of sigla.