Folklife Sourcebook: A Directory of Folklife Resources in the United States

Preface

The information contained in the Folklife Sourcebook reflects the broad reach of professional folklore and folklife networks and the many allied pursuits and activities involving folklore and folklife studies and programming in the arts and social sciences, public programs, and educational institutions. Because folklife studies have been integrated into a variety of scholarly and public pursuits, the breadth and vitality of the field has sometimes been underestimated or misunderstood. A prominent objective of the first edition in 1986 (prepared by Peter Bartis and Barbara Fertig) was to demonstrate the extent of resources and programs available. Its continuing use by professionals, members of the public, and administrators in government, museums, educational programs and grant-making agencies suggest that it has contributed significantly to the increased public and scholarly participation in and awareness of programs, institutions, and activities linked to cultural conservation. Consequently, a second edition revised and expanded (prepared by Peter Bartis and Hillary Glatt) was issued in 1994 along with a conviction that any subsequent publication would be via the internet. Although several sections of this publication have been available, this is the Folklife Sourcebook's first full on-line publication. The previous edition was available for sale from the Government Printing Office.

In recent decades the task of compiling reference and other informational data has been performed by the head of acquisition for the Center's Archive of Folk Culture, Joseph C. Hickerson. With assistance from interns and fellow staff members, a large number of reference aids were prepared and maintained to assist researchers who have visited and corresponded with the Center seeking information and reference services relating to collections and to the broader area of folklife studies and professional activities. Several of these reference aids became the bases for sections of this directory. The sources and resources they list have become so multiple and varied, and public request for information has become so overwhelming, that by the 1980s a unified directory and a more formal management of network information seemed a warranted and useful contribution to the field.

The success of this publication rests entirely on the support and responsiveness of the network of institutions and individuals cited on its pages. We extend our gratitude to them for their assistance and friendship. We invite and encourage them to review entries and send corrections as needed and caution readers that entries for local societies and their serial publications change far more frequently. Periodically, and as time permits, we will update these pages.

In as much as this publication rests on the foundation of the 1986 and 1994 editions, we remain appreciative of the past contributions of Barbara Fertig and Hillary Glatt and for invaluable assistance from Ronald L. Baker, Jennifer A. Cutting, Peter Harrington, Aldona M. Kamantauskas, Michal Licht, and Natalie Sarrazin. Special acknowledgement and appreciation are due to Barbara Tenenbaum, who generously contributed to the chapter on Mexican resources; Jennifer A. Cutting, for her compilation of recording companies; James Hardin, for assistance and editing from concept to production; and to Joseph C. Hickerson, for his continued management of the informational resources contained in the Archive of Folk Culture. Finally, a special thanks to Stephanie Hall, who moved this publication from disk to cyberspace.