State and Local History Resources at the American Folklife Center - Live Webinar
Includes a Live Web Event on 03/05/2025 at 3:00 PM (EST)
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Webinar Description
Join staff members of the American Folklife Center (AFC) at the Library of Congress for a free virtual tour of its resources, activities, and research opportunities as well as guidance on how to access, explore and utilize its vast archival collection, much of it now available online.
The American Folklife Center offers an abundance of valuable resources for state and local historians. With more than 8 million items and 3,500 collections in its archive, the AFC is the world’s foremost repository for documentary materials on local, state, and regional cultural traditions, both historic and contemporary. Its collections document traditional culture in the United States and throughout the world.
Originally founded at the Library in 1928, since 1976 the AFC has been charged by Congress to “preserve and present” folklife and traditional culture in all its diversity. Over the years the Center's staff have coordinated and conducted large scale fieldwork projects, produced rich public programs, supported training for researchers and fieldworkers, provided robust reference services, and built a significant multiformat archive that holds cultural documentation of lived human experience from around the world.
This webinar includes an overview of AFC holdings; introduces relevant Research Guides and approaches to research; features a short walk-through demonstrating how to use and navigate AFC online resources; and touches on related issues such as copyrights, citing/crediting Library materials; making research appointments (online and in person); and AFC awards, internships, and research opportunities.
Learning Outcomes
As a result of this webinar, attendees will be able to:
- Understand the AFC’s mission and activities, and how AFC can be a resource for their own site's research and interpretation
- Find resources on the AFC website
- Conduct simple key word searches in the online catalog and digital collections to find materials relevant to their own community
- Navigate research guides, finding aids, and catalog records
Details Learning Outcomes
DATE: March 5, 2025
TIME: 3:00 - 4:15 pm EASTERN (Remember to adjust for your time zone)
COST: FREE
ACCESS: You will be provided with instructions on how to access the live event upon registration.
Recording and Captioning
We will record this event. Captioning is provided for the live event.
How to Register
Click here for instructions on how to register yourself or another user for this event.
Cancellation/Refunds for onsite workshops must be submitted in writing via email to learn@aaslh.org or mail to 2021 21st Ave S., Suite 320 Nashville, TN 37212. Cancellations made prior to the early-bird registration deadline date will receive a full refund. Cancellations made between the early-bird deadline date and eight days prior to the workshop will be subject to a $55 processing/materials charge. No refunds will be given within seven days of the workshop date. AASLH is not responsible for cancellations that were mailed or emailed but never received.
Cancellations/Refunds for online professional development (webinars and online courses) must be submitted in writing via email to learn@aaslh.org or mail to 2021 21st Ave S., Suite 320 Nashville, TN 37212. Cancellations made prior to the start date for the online course or the day of the webinar will be given a full refund. No refund will be given after the start date for the online course or on/after the day of the webinar. Registrants may transfer their registration to another person. Registrations cannot be transferred between courses or course sessions. AASLH is not responsible for cancellations that were mailed or emailed but never received.
If you have any questions, please contact AASLH Professional Development staff at learn@aaslh.org or 615-320-3203.
Andrea Decker
Reference Librarian
American Folklife Center
Andrea Decker is a scholar of Indonesian popular music who promotes teaching with primary sources as a tool to develop media and information literacies. Her research has been featured in Bijdragen tot deTaal-, Land- en Volkenkunde (English title: Journal of the Humanities and Social Sciences of Southeast Asia and Oceania), and her photographs have been published by news organizations like Voice of America. Andrea is co-chair of the archiving interest group in the Society for Ethnomusicology. Before joining the American Folklife Center, Andrea served as Instructional Design Librarian at the University of California, Riverside, where she developed online learning modules for information literacy curriculum, and processed and cataloged the Voices of Gay Rodeo Oral History project at the Autry Museum of the American West. Andrea holds a Master’s of Science in Library and Information Science from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign and a Ph.D. in Ethnomusicology from the University of California, Riverside.
Nancy Groce
Senior Folklife Specialist
American Folklife Center
Nancy Groce is a folklorist and ethnomusicologist. She received a PhD from the University of Michigan in American Studies and has worked for numerous public sector cultural organizations, including the Smithsonian Institution’s Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the New York Council for the Humanities. She was recently elected a Fellow of the American Folklore Society and leads the Public Sector Mentoring Program for the Society for Ethnomusicology. She is the author of numerous books, articles and CDs and has curated major exhibits and conferences for the Smithsonian, the Library of Congress, Museum of the City of New York, and other institutions. Her responsibilities at the American Folklife Center include overseeing the Botkin Lecture Series, coordinating the Occupational Folklife Project, and producing the America Works Podcast.
Meg Nicholas
Folklife Specialist
American Folklife Center
Meg Nicholas is a folklorist and storyteller of mixed Lenape and Welsh heritage with an MA in Interdisciplinary Studies (concentration in Public Sector Folklore) and a BA in history from George Mason University. Prior to joining the American Folklife Center, she served as a government contractor for the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Department of Education, and the Administration for Native Americans. Here at the Center, she contributes wisdom on the stewardship and presentation of Indigenous culture within the Center’s archival collections and public programs and is a regular writer on the Folklife Today blog, covering topics as varied as cryptids, foodways, and the intersection of science, history, and folklore.
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