A Very Preliminary Statement

Abstract

No greater chaos can be imagined than that which prevails among the various set-ups which are, or might be, termed folk archives in the United States. At least such is the impression gained by one tourist who inspected more or less intensively some twenty American archives for periods ranging from a few hours to six weeks. Yet that same tourist realized that within each archive there exists its own particuar, not to say peculiar, kind of order that makes reason to at least its director and/or founder. To describe all the major problems and needs of folk achives apparent in such disunity would take more than 500 words, more than 5000 words, and so at this time I shall attempt only to describe generally, and in no particular order of importance, a few problems that seem pressing and significant.