The Folklore Archives was established by Frances Lee Utley (1907-1974) in 1961 as a joint effort between the Schools of Music and Education, and the Departments of English and Anthropology. First named the Archive for Primitive, Ethnic, and Folk Music, Utley envisioned the archive as an interdisciplinary center for studying and documenting vernacular music. The initial collection included large runs of commercially produced music to be used for research and teaching purposes.  

Over subsequent decades, a growing community of Folklore scholars at Ohio State contributed to the Archive’s holdings. The archives now hold the research materials of Pat Mullen, Dan Barnes, Amy Shuman, Tim Lloyd, Katherine Borland, among many others. Their work represents a wide range of folkloric genres and practices in North America and internationally. Many of the Archive’s collections include original ethnographic and oral histories of the folklife and history of Ohio. 

The Archives remain an important pedagogical resource for the University community. Students in folklore classes have deposited over eleven thousand ethnographic projects in the archives. The Student Ethnographic projects represent a unique collection of materials documenting undergraduate life on campus and its connected communities. These projects and other materials continue to be used for research and as classroom teaching materials for graduate and undergraduate students.  

Amy Shuman and Pat Mullen founded the Center for Folklore Studies in the 1990s to centralize the folklore community on campus. 

Location & Directions

The OSU Folklore Archives is located in 455 Hagerty Hall, 1775 College Road S. Our reading room in 455A is open 9 AM to 5 PM most weekdays, and our Archivist is typically in the office in room 468 during those times. Please visit us at any time and feel free to make an appointment by emailing cfs@osu.edu. We're always happy to help you navigate the catalogue and find materials of interest in Hagerty Hall, but please be aware that many materials are stored remotely and may take up to a week to arrive.

Archive hours

Please make an appointment when possible by emailing cfs@osu.edu. Our archivist is here from 9 am to 5 pm on most weekdays, but an appointment ensures that you will have access to the collections you are interested in. Some items may take longer to process while others may be unavailable.

Donating to the Archives

The Center for Folklore Studies Archives will accept donations of research and other collections after being accessed and approved by the Center's research committee. Book collections will be under particular scrutiny at this time because we lack sufficient space to maintain a large library. If you are considering making a book donation, please contact the OSU Libraries first to see of their interest.

If you are interested in making a materials donation to the Center for Folklore Studies Archives, please contact cfs@osu.edu.

All donations are subject to review and can be tax-deductible with a qualified appraiser. The Center does not provide nor pay for an appraiser's services.