Quick Summary
The University of Arkansas Libraries and Special Collections Department will be celebrating the official launching of the digital Ozark Folksong Collection
The University of Arkansas Libraries and Special Collections Department will be celebrating the official launching of the digital Ozark Folksong Collection on Friday, August 28th. This will mark the nation’s largest and most complete collection of its kind. Though the opening ceremony isn’t until Friday, the digital collection is already available online for you to enjoy today and includes a variety of recordings from over 700 performers. This collection encompasses complex layers of class, culture, and occupations through its inclusion of discussion topics on politics, conflicts, religion, and more.
From 1948 to 1975, Mary Celestia Parler was a faculty member in the English Department. And with her students, she hiked throughout the Ozarks for 16 years collecting songs, proverbs, riddles, folk beliefs, and games. Parler’s work made her the primary collector of this collection.
The Ozark Folksong Collection is comprised of over 4,500 audio files and almost 4,000 of them have been transcribed and are searchable. Parler and her students were responsible for many of the transcriptions.
To learn more read the University of Arkansas News article.
Or dive right in and browse the rich Ozark Folksong Collection.
Here are a few to get you started: