Folklore and Appalachia: Start Your Research

"The American Folklore Society is a membership organization dedicated to supporting the individuals and organizations engaged in the study and advancement of folklore and expressive cultural traditions throughout the world. AFS serves its members and the general public by providing programming, publications, policies, and resources examining and affirming the diversity of human creativity across time, heritages, and places." from websire

"The mission of the Appalachian Studies Association is to promote and engage dialogue, research, scholarship, education, creative expression, and action among a diverse and inclusive group of scholars, educators, practitioners, grassroots activists, students, individuals, groups and institutions." from website

The collection includes sound and video recordings, images, manuscripts, sheet music, and other artifacts, along with field notes. The Library of Congress conducted the project in North Carolina and Virginia from 1977 to 1981.

Society focuses on contemporary legends that often find their origin in social media, word of mouth and informal communications.

Based at Western Kentucky University and house in the Department of Folk Studies and Anthropology, KFP promotes folklore, oral history, music and digital project throughout the commonwealth.

The North Carolina Folklife Institute promotes the preservation, appreciation and understanding of the folklife heritage and culture in North Carolina. We do this through documentation projects, festival production, community education programming, research, print, and audio publications, and cultivating a vast network of community and folk arts organizations in North Carolina." from website

"The West Virginia Folklife Program is dedicated to the documentation, preservation, presentation, and support of West Virginia’s vibrant cultural heritage and living traditions". From website

"Guides exploring folklife in your region, topical areas, and the unique collections of the Library of Congress American Folklife Center (AFC), now one of the largest archives of ethnographic materials from the United States and around the world, encompassing millions of items of ethnographic and historical documentation recorded from the nineteenth century to the present."