UCLA Information Studies Seminar

The American Folklife Center:
Preserving Voices and Visions

Peggy A. Bulger
American Folklife Center

Thursday, May 1st, 2003, 3pm-5pm
GSE&IS Building, Room 111
(just west of the Research Library)

Abstract: The American Folklife Center (AFC) at the Library of Congress is a treasure-house of ethnographic research materials. Now with over 3 million sound recordings, photos, films, manuscripts and ephemeral publications, the AFC is one of the largest archives of folklife and heritage materials in the world. This mother-lode of field materials and unpublished, one of a kind documentation comes with the enormous responsibility to preserve and make these materials accessible to the public. Dr. Peggy A. Bulger, Director of the AFC, will discuss the history of the Center and its archive, established in 1928. Current outreach programs and preservation efforts (Save Our Sounds) will be presented, along with a charge for ethnographers and archivists for the future.

Peggy A. Bulger is director of the American Folklife Center, the second person to hold that position since the Center was created by the US Congress in 1976. She received her PhD in folklore and folklife from the University of Pennsylvania. Bulger has been documenting folklife and developing and managing folklife programs for more than thirty years. She is the author of South Florida Folklife, with Tina Bucuvalas and Stetson Kennedy, (1994) and the editor of Musical Roots of the South (1992). She is the producer of many videos, including Music Masters & Rhythm Kings (1993), Every Island Has Its Own Songs: The Tsimouris Family of Tarpon Springs (1988), Fishing All My Days: Maritime Traditions of Florida's Shrimpers (1985); and a number of recordings, including Deep South Musical Roots Tour (1992) and Drop On Down in Florida (1981). She has served as president of the American Folklore Society (2000-2002).

Everyone is invited.