Fwd: Save American Folklife C... (fwd)
CAMILLE@VM.TEMPLE.EDU
Sat, 24 Jun 1995 22:16:26 EDT
I am forwarding this message to alert anthropologists to the threat to
publicly funded archival programs at the library of congress. The
American Folklife Center, with its rich and varied web site, is under
attack by congress. Please read the attached, and urge your Senators to
vote to fund the Folklife Center. Thank you! Dr. Camille Bacon-Smith,
Temple University, Philadelphia, PA. (this is on the level, folks--I
spoke to the Center today, and things are looking very grim.
----------------------------Original message----------------------------
Urgent!
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Forwarded message:
Subj: Fwd: Save American Folklife C...
Date: 95-06-24 01:07:15 EDT
From: Libisama
To: folklore@tamvm1.tamu.edu
Urgent! Please distribute to any appropriate addresses. Apologies for
cross-postings.
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Forwarded message:
Subj: Save American Folklife Center
Date: 95-06-24 00:51:23 EDT
From: Libisama
To: mnhan238@sivm.si.edu
IMMEDIATE ACTION NEEDED
TO SAVE THE AMERICAN FOLKLIFE CENTER
AND THE ARCHIVE OF FOLK CULTURE!!
The national repository for folk music and culture, the Archive of Folk
Culture, and its administrative offices at the American Folklife Center at
the Library of Congress are threatened with the loss of their public funds,
which would take effect Sept. 30, 1995!
Yesterday, June 22, the House of Representatives voted to take the funds of
the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress to use for another
purpose. The action was an amendment to the budget of the Library introduced
by Rep. William Clinger of Pennsylvania and part of a larger appropriations
bill. House members advocating the amendment suggested that the Center and
its 70-year-old Archive of Folk Culture should seek private funds. Opponents
of the action defended the role of the Center and its archive in American
culture. The vote was 260 to 159. The bill will now proceed to the Senate
for action in the next few weeks.
The Folklife Center's current funding and authorization ends September 30th.
A two-year reauthorization has been proposed and is proceeding through
Congress. However, if the Center loses its funding and its staff as of
September 30th, it will be impossible for them to raise funds in order to
continue.
The collections of the Archive of Folk Culture include ethnographic and
ethnomusicological documentation from every state and from many foreign
countries as well. It includes the recordings of Leadbelly, Woodie Guthrie,
and Jelly Roll Morton. Its collections of early wax cylinder recordings of
Native American music and song are the largest in the country. Famous
fieldworkers such as John and Alan Lomax, Zora Neale Hurston, and Herbert
Halpert have entrusted their collections to the care of the Nation in this
repository.
This action not only threatens our National archive for folk traditions, but
has dire implications for all archives and libraries supported by public
funds. Although there was an outpouring of support for the Center and its
collections from constituents, supporters of the amendment merely cited this
as evidence that the Center can raise public funds. The fact that most of
the public programs of the Center are already supported by private funds
($330,000 raised in 1995) while the public funds mainly support reference,
acquisitions, and processing for its collections was also discounted. THESE
SAME ARGUMENTS COULD BE USED TO REMOVE FEDERAL AND STATE FUNDING FROM ANY OF
OUR PUBLIC REPOSITORIES.
Take immediate action! Contact your state's Senators and tell them why the
Folklife Center and its collections must be supported. If you need
congressional phone or fax numbers or mailing addresses you may find these by
using the Library of Congress's LC MARVEL Gopher server at marvel.loc.gov
(login as marvel). Choose /Government /Federal Government /Legislative
Branch /Directories.
An article about the Center and its situation appeared in the Washington
Post, June 23, p. F1. An article is also planned for the New York Times.
If you wish to learn more about the American Folklife Center and its
collections, you may write to them at the Library of Congress, Washington DC,
20540, email to ajab@loc.gov, or call at 202 707-6590.
You may also visit the Center's Gopher site on LC MARVEL at marvel.loc.gov
(login as marvel), choose / Research and Reference, / Reading Rooms of the
Library of Congress / American Folklife Center, or visit their World Wide Web
site at
http://lcweb.loc.gov/folklife
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