The Randall V. Mills Archives of Northwest Folklore@@http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~flr/archives/archives.htm@@ — a bank of documents, collections, and research materials on folklife in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest — is receiving a $40,000 grant from the Federal Institute of Museum and Library Services@@http://uonews.uoregon.edu/archive/news-release/2012/3/uo%E2%80%99s-archives-northwest-folklore-awarded-federal-grant@@ to make its records more accessible for student and faculty research.
The archives, a part of the University’s Folklore Program and Oregon Folklife Network@@http://ofn.uoregon.edu/@@, includes various images, sounds, videos, stories and human and organizational resources that document Oregon’s various heritage traditions. Until now these records have remained part of organizational files and sometimes as touring collections that were only available to the public when exhibits were supported.
“These collections offer an intimate view of cultural dynamics in the state. In many ways they are of the people, by the people and for the people,” Oregon folklore archivist and digital collections librarian Nathan Georgitis@@his name sounds like a disease http://directory.uoregon.edu/telecom/directory.jsp?p=findpeople%2Ffind_results&m=staff&d=person&b=name&s=Nathan+Georgitis@@ said. “I hope by increasing the diversity of collections we will help manifest an inclusive campus environment, one that is welcoming to students of all backgrounds.”
The funds will be used to further improve public access to the archives through state-of-the-art library and data-management technologies. According to Georgitis, the intention of the program is to enhance access to the collections for use in academic research, classroom instruction, personal enrichment, public programs and community use.
“If a student, faculty member or researcher is interested in the history of a cultural group in the state, he or she will discover in these collections personal accounts of that history,” Georgitis said. “This primary source information is qualitatively different from the type of information found in secondary sources such as books and articles.”
Members of the Oregon Folklife Network — a larger program of study and instruction that extends throughout the state to institutions such as Lewis & Clark College @@http://www.lclark.edu/@@— are also excited about the grant as it will allow their collections to be archived along with the University’s. The Oregon Folklife Network opened its central hub at the University in the fall of 2010 as a “newly re-visioned and revitalized collaboration.”@@http://ofn.uoregon.edu/about-us/history/@@
“I am excited that this grant will make these records publicly available so that Oregonians will be able to browse the web, learn what is in these collections, view images online and even visit the University Library and gain access to objects, recordings and documents that have been released for public research and handling,” Oregon Folklife Network program manager Emily Afanador said@@http://ofn.uoregon.edu/about-us/news/@@.  “This grant project is in perfect alignment with our public mission to raise awareness of the vast cultural heritages in Oregon.”