Archives, historical societies, and museums
today have inherited the task
of caring for a swelling mass of audiovisual
materials. A 2005 Heritage Health Index
survey calculated a staggering 2,423,568
moving image collections and 2,189,992
audio collections safeguarded within the
United States alone. Alarmingly, more than
40 percent of audio and video collections
are maintained in unknown conditions. The
same report concluded that many cultural
institutions lack essential resources to care
for these artifacts. These collections are
in peril if left unattended, as over time the
fragile plastic-coated tapes can deteriorate
and fail to play.
Archives and Collections
From the Director
As we all move more fully into the digital age, New York Folklore’s concern has been to provide our full catalog to as many people as possible. Our catalog is substantial, as it represents more than 75 years of consistent publishing, with content that spans every corner of New York State.
A Visit to City Lore’s Archives
In September 2022, City Lore, located in Lower Manhattan, had a visitor who told us that she believed we might have a photograph of her mother in our archives. The image that she was looking for showed her mother working at their family-owned vegetable stall in New York City’s Chinatown, shortly after her parent’s immigration from Hong Kong in the 1970s. Fortunately, she knew who had taken it.
A Transitional Interpretation
The curator for the exhibition, A Transitional Interpretation” at the Folklife Gallery, Crandall Public Library, 2015, presents stories behind five photos on exhibit of Lyle Lovett, Frank Zappa, Mal Waldron, Dave Van Ronk, and Lucius by their photographers (Lawrence White, Enid Farber, Joe Deuel, Bryan Lasky, and the curator Andrzej “Andre” Pilarczyk.)
Irv and Fran Shapiro Folk Music Library
New York Heritage: A Digital Archive
A Description of New York Heritage, an online resource providing access to digitized primary sources, including folklore materials.