PFP Folklife Archive

The Folklife Archive of the Philadelphia Folklore Project preserves primary ethnographic documentation of the folk culture, histories and experiences of diverse Philadelphians. The archive of 45,000+ items includes more than 1,200 archive accessions and 480 open files containing about 700 audio and videotapes of oral histories and folklife interviews, 40,000 photographs and slides, 15 shelf feet of field research notes and other manuscript materials, 26 shelf feet of artifacts and about 21 file drawers of printed ephemera documenting local grassroots folk cultural organizations and their histories, activities, resources and collections. Our archive is exceptionally diverse; it documents and preserves significant aspects of Philadelphians' lives, experiences, histories and expressions. The archive is accessible by appointments (generally scheduled M-F 9-5), and through a computerized finding aid, with various subject indices as well as accession descriptions.