collections collections collections ryan anthony donaldson
DESCRIPTION
The Middle Atlantic Folklife Association and the New York State Folk Arts Roundtable hosted a conference in Cooperstown, New York entitled "Collections, Collections, Collections" from April 10 - 13, 2008. I participated in the panel, "Hidden Treasures: An Overview of the NY State Folklore and Folklife Collections held by the New York State Historical Association and the New York State Archives." This is my presentation from the panel session.TRANSCRIPT
COLLECTIONS
COLLECTIONS
COLLECTIONS
“HIDDEN TREASURES” PANEL:
Overview of NYSHA & NY State Archives’ Folk Collections
Presented by Ryan Anthony Donaldson
of the panel, with Florence Carnahan and Pamela Cooley
Joint Meeting of the Middle Atlantic Folklife Association
and the New York State Folk Arts Roundtable
Cooperstown Graduate Program
Fenimore Museum Auditorium
Cooperstown, NY
11 April 2008
2:30-4:00PM
http://www.oneonta.edu/academics/cgp/folklife/folklife_1.html
“An Archive From Back to the Future” -
ArchivesWithinArchives
“Collections and Files Maintained by the Archive of New York State Folklife,” BruceBuckley Folklife Collection, New York State Archives
ANYSF Antecedents::two key collections
1. H.W. Thompson Folklore Archive-Core Collection, 1934-1959Manuscript archive (with illustrations and photographs)1,688 student reports from New York State College for Teachers(later SUNY-Albany) & Cornell University
ANYSF: Earliest known recording
“Weather Lore” c.1940(audio clip, digitized from reel-to-reel)
ANYSF Antecedents:
two key collections2. Louis C. Jones Folklore ArchiveSummer 1940- Spring 1946
-Manuscript archive (unpublished)-Followed Thompson’s lead with curriculum-based
local community & family history projects
Also includes: New York Student Folklore Contest (high school)-New York State Proverb Project-Grit Magazine Ghostlore Collection
ANYSF Antecedents:LCJ Folklore Archive
Seven Main Categorization Subjects:• Child-lore• Local Legends• Supernatural and Songs• Folk Song• Folksay (proverbs, remedies, place-names, agricultural and weather lore)• Folkways and Customs• Individuals and the Community• Narrative and Folk History
With many sub-headings
*Index available at the NYSHA Library
Archive of New York State Folklife: By The Numbers
1964-1983, core collection1,200 projects1,820 total recordings1,800 reel-to-reel audio recordings-7”- 72%5”- 24%3”- 3%20 video recordings helical scan, beta, vhs
ANYSF audio-visual workstationstudio in “Bonnie” trailer, c. 1975,CGP Slide Collection
Archive of New York State Folklife:Oversized
Architectural drawingsGravestone rubbingsPortfolio & poster projectsMaterial culture/ephemera
Archive of New York State Folklife:Contextual multi-media projects
a/v, surveys, renderings, floor plans, tapes, photographs, barn reports…
Traditional Music and Storytelling
Rare Performances Heard AgainSon House
Son House concert, with Creighton Linday and Leslie Riddle,
Cooperstown High School, 1971. Photos by Milo V. Stewart
Henry Glassie’s notes frominterview with Jesse Wells.Digitized from microfilm.Available from NYSHALibrary.
Traditional Music and Storytelling
Jesse Wells
Heritage of Hard Work: HOPS documentationJesse Wells discussing hops (1964)
Heritage of Hard Work: The Adirondack Packbasket video
Richard Axt project
Fieldwork outside the classroom:Dorothy “Dew” Shonsey filming squaredancing, Milford, NY, 1976
Fieldwork outside the classroom
CGP Folk students documenting a music festival in Ferrum, VA, 1976.CGP Slide Collection
Priority of Preservation
Digital reformatting team:CGPSUNY-OneontaNational Baseball Hall of Fame
NBHoF digital mediaworkstation, Oct. 2006
Preservation
(back to the) Future
1. Rights & Access- New policies & initiatives for folk collections
(back to the) Future
“How much data do we lose each daywhen someone presses the DELETE key?”Bruce R. Buckley, 1991
2. Community Cataloging
(back to the) Future3. Collaboration
Group photo from Fife Folk Conference,1978, Logan, Utah. (Standing left to right)Hector Lee, distinguished collector of Mormonfolklore who received his doctorate in AmericanCivilization from the University of New Mexico;Barre Toelken, director of Utah StateUniversity’s folklore program from 1985-2003;Jan Harold Brunvand, professor at the Universityof Utah from 1966-1996, receiving his Ph.D.from Indiana University’s folklore program in1961; Eliot Wigginton, founder of Foxfirecurriculum and publisher of Foxfire magazine;Austin Fife, French and literature professor atUtah State University who studied Mormonfolklore; (kneeling left to right) William A.Wilson, president of the Utah Folklore Societyand editor of Western Folklore journal; BruceBuckley; and Wayland Hand, founder anddirector of the Comparative Folklore andMythology program at UCLA. Photo courtesy ofUtah State University, Special Collection andArchives. Photo courtesy of Utah StateUniversity, Special Collections and Archives.
Contact information & links:
E-mail: [email protected]
CGP Archives on flickr:www.flickr.com/photos/cooperstowngraduateprogram
"The Archive of New York State Folklife : A Narrative History and Assessment"National Baseball Hall of Fame-NYSHA Library,URL: http://pathfinder.nysha.org/search~S2/a?SEARCH=%22Donaldson%2C+ryan%22
Diane Eller with farmer holdingscales, 1969. ANYSF #68-0008,NYSHA Library.
* Special Thanks *
* Mona Buckley• Florence and John Carnahan• Pam Cooley, NYS Archives
* Benjamin Harry, NBHoF* Anne McFarland, NBHoF
* Stephen Miller, Instructional Services, SUNY-Oneonta* John Potocnik
* Cathy Raddatz, CGP* Gretchen Sorin, CGP
* Milo V. Stewart, CGP & NYSHA* Dan Ward, CGP
* Lori Beth White, CGP* Randy Williams, Utah State University
* Wayne Wright, NYSHA Library