LERA Webinar: Behind the Scenes of the Library of Congress’s New Occupational Folklife Project

Tequila Brooks sends word that the D.C. branch of LERA is offering the webinar Ironworkers, Nurses, Hairdressers and Port Pilots: Behind the Scenes of the Library of Congress’s New Occupational Folklife Project. The speaker is Nancy Groce, Senior Folklife Specialist, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress. Here's a description:

In 2010, Nancy Groce, a folklorist at the Library of Congress’s American Folklife Center, designed and launched the Occupational Folklife Project (OFP). Inspired by the Work Projects Administration’s Life Histories and the work of Archie Green and Studs Terkel, the OFP set out to document the culture of contemporary American workers during an era of economic and social transition. She collaborated with fieldworkers across the U.S., supported by a specially designed online submission platform. The on-going, born-digital project has now amassed more than 1,200 audio and video interviews with workers in scores of trades, industries, crafts, and professions. The completed interviews are being incorporated into Library of Congress archives. They are now available online.

Ms. Groce will discuss designing and implementing this significant new labor history resource and how scholars and researchers can now access and use it. We invite you to join us at noon on September 9th in what promises to be a fascinating Webex event.

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