Latvia
ARCHIVES OF LATVIAN FOLKLORE
Latviešu folkloras krātuve
The Archives of Latvian Folklore (Institute of Literature, Folklore and Art, University of Latvia) was established in 1924 in Riga, following the initiative of Anna Bērzkalne (1891–1956), a folklorist and school teacher. Based on international standards, the Archives were developed as the central institution for the collection and study of folklore in Latvia. The name and affiliation of the institution have changed several times over the years. Initially, the Archives were affiliated to the Boards of Monuments of the Ministry of Education. In 1992 the historical name of the Archives, Latviešu folkloras krātuve, was restored, and now it is a department within the Institute of Literature, Folklore and Art, University of Latvia.
More on the history of the Archives of Latvian Folklore: http://en.lfk.lv/lfk/history
Archives of Latvian Folklore in our day: http://en.lfk.lv/lfk/our-days
Collections
Being the largest centre for collection of Latvian oral traditions, the holdings of the Archives of Latvian Folklore contain approximately 3 million folklore items. The main body is constituted by Latvian folklore, but there are also collections of Livonian, Russian, German, Belarusian, Jewish, Lithuanian, Estonian and Gypsy folklore. The collections represent the culture of different social groups, since folklore was collected among peasants, schoolchildren, soldiers, informants in old people’s homes, in prisons, etc. The major part of the depository is made up of handwritten manuscripts. However, there are also sound and video recordings, notations, drawings and photographs of different decades in the holdings of the Archives.
Web
Website: en.lfk.lv
Digital archives of Latvian Folklore: garamantas.lv
Facebook page (in Latvian): https://www.facebook.com/garamantas
Facebook page (in English) of the Institute of Literature, Folklore and Art: https://www.facebook.com/LFMIdigital/
Twitter account of the Archives of Latvian Folklore: https://twitter.com/_LFK_
Twitter account of the Digital Archives of Latvian Folklore (in Latvian): https://twitter.com/garamantas
Address
Archives of Latvian Folklore LFMI, UL
Mūkusalas iela 3
Riga, LV-1423
Latvia