iSchool Capstone

Folk Mic

Project tags:

archives & special collections

content & digital asset management

mobile or web development

Project poster

In many cultures, oral storytelling and folktales are an important tool for elders to share the intimate lore and cultural norms with future generations. Individuals and institutions are coming to the realization that generations of stories are being lost. Efforts to preserve these treasures have largely been dedicated to oral histories and personal narratives. Folk Mic is a publicly-accessible online repository for recordings of folktales. The project creates a framework for any storyteller, amateur to professional, to add their folktales and original stories. Furthermore, users are able to search for the stories using newly developed metadata and to develop more sophisticated metadata as the project grows in size. Folk Mic promotes the value of hearing and seeing a storyteller weave a tale rather than simply reading it. Now, future generations will have an online database where they can watch, hear, and record more storytellers.

Project participants:

Martha Karavitis

MLIS

Brian Lindsey

MLIS

Kian Flynn

MLIS