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THE
ARCHIVES OF CAJUN & CREOLE FOLKLORE |
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The Louisiana Digital Folklore Archive is the name given all collections
housed by the Center for Louisiana Studies. Within this collection
are several components, the largest of which is the Archives of Cajun
and Creole Folklore. Begun in 1974, the collection is the most comprehensive
repository of recorded and transcribed materials on French in Louisiana,
as well as the Upper Mississippi River Valley, French Canada, the
West Indies, and Africa.
The archive represents the collection and preservation activities of several generations of folklorists, ethnomusicologists, linguists, and other cultural resource management professionals. The oldest recordings contained in the collection are on wax cylinders, and many music and oral history interviews were originally recorded on reel-to-reel tape. Materials cover folktales, legends, ballads, dance tunes, oral history, and popular culture. Collections include those of Barry Jean Ancelet, Elizabeth Brandon, Carl A. Brasseaux, Joseph Medard Carriere, Donald Hebert, Otis Hebert, Catherine Joliecoeur, John Laudun, Alan Lomax, Sylvie Marchand, Harry Oster, William Owens, Harry Prochon, Helena Putnam, Patricia Rickels, Ralph Rinzler, Corinne Saucier, Wiskes and Crutcher, and various student recordings. The Archives of Cajun and Creole Folklore evolved from modest beginnings and has become the premier oral history and recorded music collection in Southwest Louisiana. It continues to grow with each new generation of students, who add to the collections. The archive is currently undergoing an extensive cataloging and database management process as well as digitization of all recordings. Due to the library's recent renovation, many recordings detriorated rapidly, and those materials most at risk are the primary focus of digitization and cataloging. For more information on the digitization program, click here. The archive is accessible to researchers during regular hours of operation and by special appointment. The center has four listening carrels available equipped with computers, ethernet connections, and speakers/headphones. Also, the archive catalog is accessible through LOUISiana Digital Library along with 30-second sample audio clips. The Archive is housed within the center's offices on the third floor of Edith Garland Dupré Library on UL-Lafayette's campus. The center is open Monday through Friday, 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and by appointment. Please call 337.482.6027 for further information. |
