Canned goods, Tending the Commons: Folklife and Landscape in Southern West Virginia. Photo by Lintha Scott Eiler, 1995.

About the Folklife Sourcebook

The Folklife Sourcebook is a searchable database of ethnographic resources related to folklife, anthropology, ethnomusicology, and the humanities.  It lists museums, archives, public programs, and other organizations, as well as internet-based resources, providing their contact information and links to their web pages. Serial publications and directories produced by these organizations, as well as brief introductory information about their programs and services, is also included when available.

The Folklife Sourcebook developed from a printed directory which was first published in 1986; the first electronic version went online in 1997.  The current electronic version has been upgraded and improved considerably from the previous edition.  The previous version retained its structure from the print publication, and was thus organized by geographic location.  This made it somewhat cumbersome to use; finding a list of resources on any given subject was difficult, as was finding a single resource if you did not know its geographic location. The development of the internet had meanwhile made geographic boundaries less critical; online resources may be located anywhere in the world and still provide valuable information.  For these reasons, the current version of the Folklife Sourcebook is a searchable database. Through keyword searches, one can find all the archives in the database that contain photographs, all the museums with exhibits on a particular cultural group, or all the folklife resources located in a particular state or province. 

In addition to the structural changes, upgrades have been made to the Folklife Sourcebook's content. Although it is still primarily focused on resources in North America and U.S. territories, it now includes entries from around the world, particularly those that provide programs or online resources for international scholars.  Serial publications, which once constituted a separate chapter, are now included in the entry for the organizations or publishers that produce them; this provides more complete information about publications and publishers, and in most cases connects the user directly to the seller of each publication.

Because of its expanded content and its searchable structure, this database replaces both the previous online edition of the Folklife Sourcebook, and the AFC web page, "Ethnographic Resources Related to Folklore, Anthropology, Ethnomusicology, and the Humanities."

The compilation of internet-based resources and resources from outside North America, research, addition of new North American resources, and initial formatting for this new presentation were done by Stephanie A. Hall in consultation with Peter Bartis, both of AFC.  (Hall and Bartis were the compilers of the first internet edition, and Bartis was a compiler of the print editions as well). The conversion to database was done by Julie Mangin in the Library's Network Development and Marc Standards office.   Several people assisted in compiling the resource lists from the earlier editions which form the basis of the Folklife Sourcebook as it appears today, including Ronald L. Baker, Jennifer A. Cutting, Barbara Fertig, Hillary Glatt, James Hardin, Peter Harrington, Joseph C. Hickerson, Aldona M. Kamantauskas, Michael Licht, Natalie Sarrazin, and Barbara Tenenbaum.

Suggestions for additions to the Folklife Sourcebook may be sent to folklife@loc.gov . Include all applicable information: Name of resource, URL, address, phone number, publications, and a brief description of the services provided. Please include your contact email address or phone number so that the information can be verified.