Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
How can teachers make use of the American Folklife Center's (AFC) archival materials in their classrooms? Dr. Lisa Rathje, Executive Director of the pioneering non-profit organization Local Learning, describes how educators can use AFC's local and regional collections to enhance classroom experiences at all grade levels. The AFC's archives contain a wealth of primary sources – first-hand reports and descriptions, classic recordings, striking images and compelling fieldwork documenting traditional culture in the United States and throughout the world. Today, as more of its holdings are being digitized and made available online, the AFC is becoming a valuable resource for classroom teachers, due, in part, to the efforts of organizations like Local Learning. Local Learning's work is facilitated by its status as a Consortium Partner of the Library of Congress's Teaching with Primary Sources (TSP) program, which works with educators to share ideas that create fuller, more complex narratives of cultures, communities, and histories. As the AFC celebrates its 50 year anniversary and America celebrates its 250th, this talk considers the multiple ways archives speak to a moment and support learning across formats to frame futures.
For transcript and more information, visit loc.gov/item/video-12460
How can teachers make use of the American Folklife Center's (AFC) archival materials in their classrooms? Dr. Lisa Rathje, Executive Director of the pioneering non-profit organization Local Learning, describes how educators can use AFC's local and regional collections to enhance classroom experiences at all grade levels. The AFC's archives contain a wealth of primary sources – first-hand reports and descriptions, classic recordings, striking images and compelling fieldwork documenting traditional culture in the United States and throughout the world. Today, as more of its holdings are being digitized and made available online, the AFC is becoming a valuable resource for classroom teachers, due, in part, to the efforts of organizations like Local Learning. Local Learning's work is facilitated by its status as a Consortium Partner of the Library of Congress's Teaching with Primary Sources (TSP) program, which works with educators to share ideas that create fuller, more complex narratives of cultures, communities, and histories. As the AFC celebrates its 50 year anniversary and America celebrates its 250th, this talk considers the multiple ways archives speak to a moment and support learning across formats to frame futures.
For transcript and more information, visit loc.gov/item/video-12460
