Some of the impressive tools of today are Steve Roud broadside and folksong indexes (for 16th and 17th century broadsides mine is far more complete); the Bodley Ballads website; Levy sheet music collection website; Charle Gore's 'The Scottish Fiddle Music Index' 1994 (plans are now for a CD ROM version with search software, which will make it much easier and faster to use); 'Sources of Irish Traditional Music', 1998.

The 'National Tune Index', 1980 (English, Scottish, and American tunes of the 18th century, and many, but far from complete on songs. (Weak on Scottish song and dance music and nothing from Ireland) It is only on microfiche, which makes it awkward to use (I have it, but no reader so I have to take it to my films to a library with a reader in order to use it, which isn't very often.) There are also microfim copies of many manuscripts in the Bodleian Library, Oxford; NLS, Edinburgh; British Library, London; Victoria and Albert Museum Library, London and some others. The 'British Union Catalog' is massive, but doesn't cover all big or good libraries in the UK, and same for the 'National Union Catalog' in the US. BUCEM, 'British Union Catalog of Early Music' (to 1800) is useful, but far from complete, and only lists song published separately with music (no listing of songs in books with music).