Subject Reference: Folklore
What is folklore?
"Folk" can refer to any group of people who share a common interest. We are all members of folk groups.
As a form of communication, folklore is created when people interact with one another.
Lore represents the knowledge and culture of a group and comes in many forms like stories, jokes, art, architecture,
music, and belief.
General Sources
American Folklife Center Homepage
"The American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress was created by Congress in 1976 to preserve and present American Folklife."
The site provides access to large online collections related to American life, music and culture. Links to other folklore and ethnographic sites are also included.
Ask-a-Librarian service allows users to email questions to folklore specialists.
Encyclopedia Mythica
Free encyclopedia on "mythology, folklore, legends, and more. It contains over 6000 definitions of gods and goddesses,
supernatural beings and legendary creatures and monsters from all over the world." The site provides very useful information
for researchers seeking to analyze folk literature.
Folklore and Mythology Electronic Texts
Edited and maintained by D. L. Ashliman of the University of Pittsburgh, this site contains links to hundreds of folktales
online. It is also very useful for finding multiple versions of the same tale. Sites contains links to tales from all over the world
arranged alphabetically.
Internet Public Library: Fairy Tales Pathfinder
The Internet Public Library is a public service and teaching project maintained by students at the University of
Michigan's School of Information. This pathfinder on fairy tales provides links to Internet resources that include
collections of online stories and research guides.
Legends
Everything you ever wanted to know about legends from King Arthur to Robin Hood! The site provides access to primary
source materials (original texts), bibliographies, reviews and more.
Tales Online
Provided by May Brottman in collaboration with the Department of Folklore and Ethnomusicology at Indiana University
and Indiana University Press, Tales Online is a database of full-text folktales. Users can use the simple search,
advanced search, or Thompson-Motif index search. Full collections in the database include
Household Tales Vol I and II - Grimm, Jakob and Wilhelm; One Hundred Favorite Folktales - Thompson Stith; and The Blue Fairy Book - Lang, Andrew.
Partial collections include American Indian Myths and Legends - Erdoes, Richard and Ortiz, Alfonso;
Folktales of Egypt - El-Shamy, Hasan;
Folktales Told Around the World - Dorson, Richard;
and Hungarian Folktales: The Art of Zsuzsanna Palko - Degh, Linda. In addition to the full-text of the story,
the database provides information on age appropriateness, genre, original language and title, and variant titles.
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Associations
American Anthropological Association
"The American Anthropological Association (AAA), the primary professional society of
anthropologists in the United States since its founding in 1902, is the world's largest
professional organization of individuals interested in anthropology." Among many other aspects of anthropology,
the site provides information and news on enthnology and folklore.
American Folklore Society
"Founded in 1888, the American Folklore Society serves to stimulate interest and research in all aspects of the study of folklore and folklife. The Society exists to further the discipline of folklore studies, to improve the professional well-being
of its members, and to increase the respect given to diverse cultures and their traditions." The sites
provides access to membership information, an ethics statement, information on jobs and internships and
current news in the field.
National Council for the Traditional Arts
This private, not-for-profit coroporation is dedicated to the preservation and appreciation of traditonal arts in the
United States. Traditional arts include folk, ethnic and tribal music, art, folklore and culture. The NCTA sponsors
films, festivals, music recordings and more to educate the public. The site includes information on
their publications, films, upcoming festivals and tours.
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Databases
The following annotations describe folklore related databases. The use of databases marked [Ferris Only] is restricted to Ferris-affiliated faculty, students, and staff. Click here for instructions for off-campus use.
Humanities Abstracts [Ferris Only]
This database provides abstracts and citations of journal articles in all areas of the humanities including folklore. Citation coverage
goes back to 1984.
General OneFile [Ferris Only]
A very large full-text database with over 26 million articles, it indexes both newspapers and journals, including many folklore journals. Coverage is from 1980 to the present. A few journals, especially older dates, give only selective full-text.
MLA International Bibliography [Ferris Only]
This premier language database indexes and abstracts over 6500 journal articles, books, essays and dissertations.
Language, linguistics, literature and folklore are covered from 1963 to the present.
Social Science Abstracts [Ferris Only]
Indexing and abstracting is provided for journal articles, interviews, obituaries, book reviews,
and biographies. Wide ranges of social science fields are covered including anthropology, sociology and
political science. Coverage is from 1983 to the present.
Wilson Select Plus [Ferris Only]
This completely full-text database covers a wide range of subject fields including science, humanities, education and business. Coverage is from 1994 to the present.
Some folk literature analyses and other information on folklore is included.
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Compiled by: Paul Kammerdiner, Librarian
Last updated: August 12, 2002
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