Archive of Folk Culture
Encyclopedia
The Archive of Folk Culture was founded at the U.S.
Library of Congress
in 1928 (originally as the Archive of American Folk Song) as a repository for American folk music
. The Archive of Folk Culture became part of the American Folklife Center
in 1978. Today, its multi-format, ethnographic collections are diverse and international, including over one million photographs, manuscripts, audio recordings, and moving images. It is America's first national archive of traditional life, and one of the oldest and largest of such repositories in the world.
All of the images, sounds, written accounts, and a myriad more items of cultural documentation await researchers at the Archive of Folk Culture, where over 4,000 collections, assembled over the years from "many workers" embody the very heart and soul of the national traditional life and the cultural life of communities from many regions of the world.
The collections in the Archive of Folk Culture include folk cultural
material from all fifty states, as well as United States
trusts, territories, and the District of Columbia
. Most of these areas have been served by the American Folklife Center's cultural surveys, equipment loan program, publications, and other projects.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
in 1928 (originally as the Archive of American Folk Song) as a repository for American folk music
American folk music
American folk music is a musical term that encompasses numerous genres, many of which are known as traditional music or roots music. Roots music is a broad category of music including bluegrass, country music, gospel, old time music, jug bands, Appalachian folk, blues, Cajun and Native American...
. The Archive of Folk Culture became part of the American Folklife Center
American Folklife Center
The American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC was created by Congress in 1976 "to preserve and present American Folklife" . The center includes the Archive of Folk Culture, established at the Library in 1928 as a repository for American folk music...
in 1978. Today, its multi-format, ethnographic collections are diverse and international, including over one million photographs, manuscripts, audio recordings, and moving images. It is America's first national archive of traditional life, and one of the oldest and largest of such repositories in the world.
All of the images, sounds, written accounts, and a myriad more items of cultural documentation await researchers at the Archive of Folk Culture, where over 4,000 collections, assembled over the years from "many workers" embody the very heart and soul of the national traditional life and the cultural life of communities from many regions of the world.
The collections in the Archive of Folk Culture include folk cultural
Folk culture
Folk culture refers to the lifestyle of a culture. Historically, handed down through oral tradition, it demonstrates the "old ways" over novelty and relates to a sense of community. Folk culture is quite often imbued with a sense of place...
material from all fifty states, as well as United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
trusts, territories, and the District of Columbia
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
. Most of these areas have been served by the American Folklife Center's cultural surveys, equipment loan program, publications, and other projects.
See also
- Robert Winslow GordonRobert Winslow GordonRobert Winslow Gordon was born September 2, 1888 in Bangor, Maine. Educated at Harvard, he joined the English faculty at the University of California at Berkley in 1918. He was the founding head of the Archive of American Folk Song at the Library of Congress in 1928, later the Archive of Folk...
- Ruby Terrill LomaxRuby Terrill LomaxRuby Terrill Lomax was born and raised in Denton, Texas, just outside of Dallas, Ruby Terrill earned degrees at state colleges, setting a record at the University of Texas at Austin for the highest grade average yet achieved by a woman at the university...
- John LomaxJohn LomaxJohn Avery Lomax was an American teacher, a pioneering musicologist and folklorist who did much for the preservation of American folk songs...
- Alan LomaxAlan LomaxAlan Lomax was an American folklorist and ethnomusicologist. He was one of the great field collectors of folk music of the 20th century, recording thousands of songs in the United States, Great Britain, Ireland, the Caribbean, Italy, and Spain.In his later career, Lomax advanced his theories of...
- Benjamin A. BotkinBenjamin A. BotkinBenjamin A. Botkin was a pioneering American folklorist and scholar.-Early life:Born in East Boston, Massachusetts, to Lithuanian Jewish immigrants in 1901, his family moved frequently. He attended Harvard University as a commuter between 1916 and 1920 and earned his master's degree in English at...
- Joe HickersonJoe HickersonJoe Hickerson is a noted folk singer and songleader. For 35 years he was Librarian and Director of the Archive of Folk Song at the American Folklife Center of the Library of Congress...