·•· About the Archive

The Lomax Digital Archive provides free access to audio/visual collections compiled across seven decades by folklorist Alan Lomax (1915–2002) and his father John A. Lomax (1867–1948).

The entirety of Alan’s photographs and open-reel tape recordings—made between 1946 and 1991—are available here, as well as transcriptions of his 1940s radio programs, and a selection of clips from his film and video-work of the 1970s and 1980s.

The LDA also contains several large audio collections the Lomaxes made, together and apart, on instantaneously recorded discs under the auspices of the Library of Congress’ Archive of Folk Song between 1933 and 1942. They are presented here in partnership with our colleagues at the LC’s American Folklife Center. As funds become available to digitize and catalog other collections from this period, they will be made available here. (These collections include materials collected by several of Alan's collaborators, among them John W. Work III and Mary Elizabeth Barnicle.)

The catalogs are searchable and browseable by a range of taxonomies (person, instrument, location, genre, etc.) and every recording and image is described by extensive item-level metadata.

Statement on Archival Content and Description

The Lomax Digital Archive contains audio recordings, photographs, and moving images and documents collected and produced by John A. Lomax, Alan Lomax, and his collaborators that are historical in nature and cover a large range of dates, subject matter and viewpoints. These materials document a broad spectrum of musical, oral, and cultural traditions from communities around the world, with a focus on expressive traditions in the United States, the Caribbean, Europe, and beyond.

Some of these materials, including the language used to describe them, may reflect the historical context and attitudes of the time in which it was recorded and may include outdated language or culturally sensitive material.

The Association for Cultural Equity does not condone any harmful, racist, or offensive content that may be found within these digitally accessible collections. The Lomax Digital Archive presents these materials for research, education, and cultural preservation, for the purposes of equal and equitable access, in the spirit of Alan Lomax’s lifelong commitment to cultural equity and the recognition of the creative voices of all people.

Made possible with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities

ACE's Programs, including the Lomax Digital Archive, are made possible in part by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

Presented in partnership with the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress