American Folklife Center Nevada Folklife Archive

Nevada Folklife Archive

Collection

Identifier: AFC 2017/002

Scope and Content Note

The Nevada Folklife Archive spans the years 1980 to 2017. The collection consists of field work conducted by folklorists employed by the Nevada Arts Council Folklife Program to document diverse communities and traditions across the state of Nevada.

Tasked with documenting various aspects of life and culture in Nevada, folklorists employed by the Nevada Arts Council Folklife Program collected the extensive sound recordings, photographs, transcripts, and field notes retained in this collection. The collection includes documentation of occupational folklife, including ranching, mining, railroad work, nuclear plants, and the entertainment industry; expressive traditions, including fiddling contests, cowboy poetry, leatherwork, glassblowing, basketry, quilting, music, and dance; and examples of vernacular architecture on ranches. Interviews and documentation highlight African American, Mormon, Paiute, Shoshone, Basque, Latinx, Japanese American, Thai American, South Asian American, Scottish American, and Italian American communities and traditions across Nevada. A large portion of the collection also documents programs and events sponsored by the Nevada Arts Council Folklife Program, including the Las Vegas Folklife Festival, the Sierra Folklife Festival, and the Folk Arts Apprenticeship. In addition to field work documentation, the collection includes correspondence relating to the administration of the Folklife Program, publications from the Folklife Program, and program files relating to the production of the Las Vegas Folklife Festival and the Sierra Folklife Festival.

Dates

Creation: 1980-2017

Language of Materials

Collection material in English

Access and Restrictions

The Nevada Folklife Archive is open to research. To request materials, please contact the Folklife Reading Room at https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.afc/folklife.contact

Certain restrictions to use or copying of materials may apply.

Copyright Status

Duplication of collection materials may be governed by copyright and other restrictions.

Administrative History

The Nevada Arts Council Folklife Program, a division of the Nevada Department of Tourism and Cultural Affairs, was founded in 1985. The organization administers grants, produces exhibits and publications, and initiates documentation projects that focus on the many forms of individual, organizational, and community folklife across the state of Nevada. The Nevada Folklife Archive existed as a repository for the fieldwork conducted by folklorists and contractors employed by the agency beginning in 1985. Folklorists employed by the Nevada Arts Council Folklife Program include Andrea Graham, Russell Frank, Blanton Owen, Eliza Buck, Jeanne Harrah Johnson, Anne F. Hatch, Michael Luster, Lesley Williams, Nicholas Curchin Vrooman, Tamara Layman, Debbie Nolan, Penny Rucks, and Christina Barr, among others.

Extent

84,117 items (approximately)
124 containers
119.8 linear feet (approximately)
2.8 linear feet
9 oversize posters
294 text files : digital ; pdf, doc
30 sound tape reels : analog ; 7 in.
461 sound cassettes : analog
9,805 photographs : film negatives, black and white ; 35 mm
22,880 color transparencies ; 35 mm
413 photographs : contact sheets, black and white ; various sizes
26 photographs : prints, color ; 4x6 in.
47,749 image files : digital ; jpg, tif

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Additional Description

Abstract

This collection consists of photographs, recordings, and field notes documenting diverse culture, traditions, and communities in Nevada. Sponsored by the Nevada Arts Council Folklife Program, collection materials were collected by staff folklorists beginning in 1985.

Arrangement

The Nevada Folklife Archive is organized in 3 series:

Digital materials are arranged into AIPs to mirror the arrangement of analog materials in the collection. Collection materials were accompanied by a metadata spreadsheet provided by the donor. Researchers may wish to consult this spreadsheet to find more detailed, item level description of both analog and digital materials in the collection. See NFA Spreadsheet.xlsx

Provenance

Nevada Arts Council, Folklife Program; 2016 and 2022.

Accruals

No further accruals are expected.

Processing History

The Nevada Folklife Archive was processed by Ann Hoog in 2019 and by Sara Ludewig and Carolina Restrepo in 2022.

The American Folklife Center received digital files from the Nevada Folklife Archive collection on two hard drives, each of which was assigned a unique digital ID number. Sara Ludewig rearranged the files from their original order into format series and subseries that mirror the physical material's arrangement. The archivist assigned files to an AIP by series and the AIP for each series was assigned a new name. The AIP for Series 3 was divided into two parts to accommodate file size limits. Each file retained its individual file name. See the arrangement notes for each specific subseries for more information about the arrangement and description of digital files in this collection.