home >> about
the center >> services to
the states >> new york
New York
The American Folklife Center was created in 1976 by the U.S. Congress through Public Law 94-201 and charged to "preserve and present American folklife." The Center incorporates the Archive
of Folk Culture, which was established at the Library of Congress in 1928, and is now one of the largest collections of ethnographic material from the United States and around the world.
Collections
The collections of the American Folklife Center contain rich and varied
material that documents the diverse ethnic, religious, and other folk traditions
of the Empire State. Among its unique recordings are folklore of the Seneca,
Onondaga, and other Iroquois people; maritime music recorded in the 1930s;
folk tales of Albany's Dutch community; folksongs of the Adirondack and
Catskill regions; Jewish immigrant music; and children's songs and games
in Harlem. In 1982, the Center's Ethnic Heritage and Language Schools Project
documented Turkish, Caribbean, and Greek schools in New York City.
New York participated in the Library's Bicentennial Local Legacies project,
which includes documentation of local traditions and celebrations for the
American Folklife Center's Archive of Folk Culture.
Field Research Projects
- 1982 Ethnic Heritage and Language School Project: documented Greek, Caribbean,
and Turkish schools in New York City. Finding aid.
Exhibitions
- 1983-84. Traveling exhibit entitled "Generation to Generation: Sharing the Intangible,"
Linnwood-Oxford Senior Citizens Center, Buffalo; Columbia
University, Brookdale Institute on Aging, New York 1984; and Hartwick College, Yager
Museum, Oneonta.
- 1994. Traveling exhibit entitled "Old Ties, New Attachments: Italian American Folklife in the West," The Museums at Stony Brook, Stony Brook.
Publications
Published Recordings
- Songs from the Iroquois Longhouse, Library of Congress AFS L6. Audiocassette.
- Seneca Songs from the Coldspring Longhouse, Library of Congress
AFS L17. Audiocassette.
- American Sea Songs and Shanties, Library of Congress AFS
L26/27. Compact Disc. Audiocassette.
- Child Ballads Traditional in the United States (I), Library
of Congress AFS L57. Audiocassette.
|
The Libraryof Congress>> Research Centers
Back to
Top