Did you know that AFC has a trifold brochure, which we give out at events and in our reading room? We thought we’d share it on the blog in time for the National Book Festival. If you come on down to the festival, you can take a few of these away with you! You can stop by the AFC table on The Library of Congress Main Street from 2:30 to 7:00 p.m to get brochures and bookmarks. If you do come on down, I’ll be making presentations about AFC at the Library of Congress Town Square at 10:45 a.m. and 3:50 p.m. It’s in Hall B on the lower level–here’s the festival map. I’ll be putting fun audio clips into my presentations so folks can hear some of our musical treasures, and I promise the two presentations will be different. Of course, you’ll mostly be there for the great authors, and right after my second presentation, on the same stage, you can hear the brilliant Roz Chast discuss the creation of this year’s National Book Festival poster! (You can download the poster here as a 4.25 MB pdf file.)
The brochure was written and edited by me, with input from AFC’s staff and managers. It features 45 photos from various AFC collections. I selected the photos with an eye to highlighting the diversity of our collections and activities, but the overall design and layout, including the placement of individual photos, was handled by Ashley Jones, a terrific designer in the Library’s Office of Communications.
Most of the photos of AFC events are by me, but I can’t take credit for the cover image (above right) of hoop dancer Dallas Chief Eagle, which was taken by our former colleague Michaela McNichol, or the photo of Mike Seeger in the “Public Programs” box (below top right), which is by Robert Corwin. Both were taken in the Coolidge Auditorium, where we hold most of our concerts. Many other great photographers in our collections are also represented by one or more thumbnail images.
Above is the first side of the brochure, which, when folded, constitutes the front and back cover and the photo montage. In addition to our name, “Library of Congress American Folklife Center,” it contains an inspiring quotation from our enabling legislation:
“The diversity inherent in American folklife has contributed greatly to the cultural richness of the Nation and has fostered a sense of individuality and identity among the American people…”
PUBLIC LAW 94-201
94th Congress, H. R. 6673, January 2, 1976
The inside of the brochure becomes three distinct columns when opened, and gives you basic information about AFC, including what we do, why we do it, and how you can get in touch or get involved. Take a look below! For the sake of convenience, legibility, and accessibility, I’ve put the text of the brochure in the blog, underneath the image.
We hope to see you on Saturday, but either way please enjoy the brochure!
PRESERVE & PRESENT
ABOUT THE AFC
The American Folklife Center (AFC) was created in 1976 by the U.S. Congress to “preserve and present American folklife” through research, documentation, archival preservation, reference services, live performances, exhibitions, publications, and training. As America’s designated national folklife center, AFC collects and documents living traditional culture, while also preserving its unparalleled collections in the Library of Congress’s state-of-the-art facilities.
VISIT THE AFC
You can conduct research in our collections, enjoy our public programs (including concerts, lectures, and symposia), contact us to discuss ethnographic or archival issues, and subscribe to our RSS feeds, blog, and Facebook page.
Location:
Thomas Jefferson Building
10 First Street S.E.
Washington, D.C.
Rm G53
202.707.5510
Hours:
8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Monday through Friday
Closed weekends and federal holidays
Online:
loc.gov/folklife
blogs.loc.gov/folklife/
The AFC Archive was founded in 1928 within the Library’s Music Division and later moved to AFC. It is one of the world’s largest collections of ethnographic materials, with about 6 million recordings, manuscripts, and photos documenting traditional arts and music from people throughout the U.S. and around the world. Items range from the first ethnographic recordings of Native American folklore on wax cylinders to oral histories with American veterans and civil rights leaders.
The AFC Archive includes:
- Collections by Alan Lomax, Pete Seeger, and Zora Neale Hurston
- Field recordings of “Rock Island Line,” “La Bamba,” and “House of the Rising Sun”
- First recordings of Muddy Waters, Honeyboy Edwards, and Lead Belly
- Early recordings of Korean traditional music
- Recordings of Mexican American folksongs
- Recordings of Latin American, African, European, and other traditional cultures from around the world.
Public Programs
AFC’s public programs include the Homegrown Concert Series, presenting traditional music of diverse cultures; the Benjamin Botkin Folklife Lecture Series, presenting groundbreaking research into expressive culture; a series of exciting symposia on ethnographic and archival subjects; and the “Folklife Today” blog, presenting folklife articles, videos, and news.
Veterans History Project
AFC’s Veterans History Project is a national oral-history project that collects, preserves, and makes accessible the personal accounts of American war veterans so that future generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand the realities of war. Visit VHP at loc.gov/vets
Make a Gift
AFC’s collections are among the great treasures of the Library of Congress. You can help expand and enrich AFC’s programs to preserve and present folklife for the benefit of the American people. Make a tax-deductible contribution to help strengthen, preserve, support, revitalize, and disseminate the cultural richness of the nation. Find out how at loc.gov/folklife/gift.html