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Category: Occupational Folklife Project

Man stands against rear bumper of car parked on side of rural road.

Rural Free Delivery: Folklorist Emily Hilliard and the Occupational Folklife Collection, “Mail Carriers of Central Appalachia”

Posted by: John Fenn

The American Folklife Center is delighted to announce that another outstanding oral history collection has just been added to the hundreds of interviews with contemporary American workers already available online as part of the Occupational Folklife Project. This one could not be more timely! It features interviews with 25 contemporary rural mail carriers and clerks (formerly known as postmasters) whose work contributes so much to the holiday season. In this blog, staff folklorist Nancy Groce talks with folklorist Emily Hilliard, the project’s director, about her fieldwork and experiences researching Rural Free Delivery: Mail Carriers in Central Appalachia, which was made possible by a 2021 Archie Green Fellowship.

A woman outdoors holds a bunch of fresh flowers

AFC’s Occupational Folklife Project Continues to Expand

Posted by: Stephen Winick

The number of engaging, publicly-accessible interviews with American workers in the AFC’s Occupational Folklife Project (OFP) collection continues to expand and diversify. To date, AFC-funded fieldworkers across the United States have recorded almost 1,800 audio and audiovisual oral history interviews with workers in scores of trades, industries, crafts, and professions. More than 850 of these OFP interviews are now available online to researchers and members of the public --and more are being added each month! This blog highlights some of the newest OFP collections to be made available on the LOC website.

A man wearing a reflective safety vest sits in a chair

The Fourth Season of our ‘America Works’ Podcast is Here!

Posted by: John Fenn

The American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress is kicking off 2023 with the much-awaited fourth season of “America Works,” a podcast series celebrating the diversity, resilience and creativity of American workers in the face of economic uncertainty. The new season, launched today, features captivating job-related stories from a range of occupational groups, including a professional wrestler, a cement plant work, a neonatologist and a grocery store cashier. The first episode is available on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, and at loc.gov/podcasts. Subsequent episodes will be released every week on Thursdays through April 27, 2023. All the links you need are in this post!

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

Work in Progress: New Story Map on the AFC’s Occupational Folklife Collections

Posted by: Michelle Stefano

We are excited to announce the new Library story map, Work in Progress: The American Folklife Center’s Occupational Folklife Collections, which explores the many collections in the AFC archives dedicated to documenting “occupational folklife,” or work culture, and people’s work-related histories and experiences in places across the country. Check out the Work in Progress story …

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

The Third Season of the ‘America Works’ Podcast is Here!

Posted by: Stephen Winick

The American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress is kicking off 2022 with the much-awaited third season of "America Works," a podcast series celebrating the diversity, resilience and creativity of American workers in the face of economic uncertainty. The new season, launched today, features riveting stories from a teacher and workers at a circus, a meat plant, a vineyard, and a now-closed Boeing factory, among others. The first episode is available on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher and at loc.gov/podcasts. Subsequent episodes will be released each Thursday through March 10, 2022. This blog post contains links and an episode guide to the season.

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

Teaching in Wisconsin Classrooms: New Occupational Folklife Project Collection Documents Some of America’s Most Essential Workers

Posted by: Stephen Winick

Just in time for the start of a new school year, the American Folklife Center has posted to its website a wonderful new collection of Occupational Folklife Project interviews documenting Teaching in Wisconsin Classrooms. This important resource features in-depth interviews with 32 dedicated, resourceful and creative elementary teachers throughout the state of Wisconsin. Given the essential role played by American teachers, it is perhaps surprising that the AFC archive previously contained so few first-person narratives by classroom teachers documenting their work lives. This collection begins to address that gap.

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

New Occupational Folklife Project Interviews Go Online

Posted by: Stephen Winick

The following news comes to us from AFC senior folklife specialist Nancy Groce. The American Folklife Center (AFC) at the Library of Congress is delighted to announce that five new Occupational Folklife Project collections are now available on the Library of Congress website. They are: “Boeing Aircraft Factory Workers,” “Trash Talk: Workers in Vermont’s Waste …