Archives
About Our Collection
The NCTA’s archive of original audio recordings dates to the 1930s, with a concentration of materials from the 1960s to the present. This collection attests to NCTA’s leading role in the presentation, promotion, and documentation of folk and traditional arts, as well as the organization’s place in the history of arts presentation in the United States. It has been called “arguably the nation’s most important private collection . . . that collectively define[s] the essence of America’s cultural legacy to the world,” and “one of the . . . major cornerstones of twentieth century American folk music documentation.” Every state and U.S. territory is represented in the collection.
Since 1971, virtually all of the NCTA’s festivals and tours have been recorded, forming an incomparable and constantly expanding audio archive of traditional arts performances. There are classic recordings of now legendary artists as well as the only extant recordings of others. The archive demonstrates not only an awe-inspiring range of cultures and art forms, but also NCTA’s seminal role in bringing traditional arts to the public for nearly 100 years.
Collections
Accessing the Archive
In 2001, the NCTA entered into an agreement with the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress to acquire this rare and endangered collection of audio/video recordings, now known as “The National Council for the Traditional Arts (NCTA) Collection.” To date, the NCTA has delivered to the Library of Congress over 7,000 hours of audio, preserved and digitized in our in-house lab. These audio recordings are searchable via the Library of Congress's online catalog. View the finding aid here.
We are working hard to preserve and provide access to our paper, photograph, audiovisual, and digital materials. Check back soon for more information! If you have an inquiry about a particular item or research question, please contact us using the form. Reference and publication copies of collection items may be produced for a processing fee.
Ongoing Work
The archives also include over 90 years of organizational papers, event/program materials, thousands of photographs, and over 300 hours of film and video that provide critical documentation of the NCTA’s activities. Some of these materials are at very high risk, in deteriorating condition, and in immediate need of preservation. In 2023, the NCTA began an initiative to rehouse and catalog these holdings and is working towards their preservation and future accessibility.