Julia,
This is like shooting fish in a barrel!
Put me down as absolutely interested and also count in a friend who is not
on the Internet, so my vote counts as two.
Cheers
Simon
----- Original Message -----
From: "Julia C.Bishop" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Monday, May 27, 2002 1:38 PM
Subject: The James M. Carpenter Collection


> Dear Colleagues,
>
> As some of you are aware, a team of five researchers and myself are
currently working on a detailed catalogue of the James Madison Carpenter
Collection. (For more details of the Collection, see the Library of Congress
Finding Aid at the following URL)
>
> http://lcweb.loc.gov/folklife/guides/carpenter.txt
>
> The cataloguing project is due for completion in November 2002 and will be
available online. In addition, the Library of Congress is digitising the
Collection and, when the necessary preparations have been undertaken and
permissions gained, it is hoped that the catalogue will link directly to the
public presentation of the digitised images and sound recordings.
>
> We are now in the process of applying for funding to prepare a hard- copy
critical edition of the Collection, along the lines of such publications as
The Greig-Duncan Folk Song Collection, Folktales of Newfoundland or, further
back, The Frank C. Brown Collection. It is envisaged that this edition will
complement the online raw materials of the Collection, providing a
synthesised, reliable and tangible form for users, complete with scholarly
commentary, annotations, and biographical details of contributors, as well
as an introduction to Carpenter's biography and the making of the Collection
(I'm working on a full biography of Carpenter alongside the work with the
team on the Collection - when I have time!).
>
> As well as letting listmembers know of these activities and hopes, my
reason for writing is simply to try and get a feel for the potential
audience 'out there' for such a publication. It is obviously important for
us, and potential funders, to have an idea of the extent of likely use of
such a resource. We (the team - consisting of David Atkinson, Elaine
Bradtke, Bob Walser, Eddie Cass, and Tom McKean) feel we glimpse the
enormous value of this Collection, but what of others? Are folks, beyond us,
interested in the contents of this Collection, and are folks interested in a
critical edition of it (I *don't* mean 'interested enough to buy it', just
interested enough to make use of a hard-copy edition, as distinct from, or
in tandem with, the online catalogue and eventual digitised Collection)?
>
> Any feedback on this score would be much appreciated. I'm also happy to
provide further information about the Collection. Meanwhile, I have a
funding application deadline of 31 May (which has prompted this musing in
the first place) so early responses would be particularly welcomed!
>
> Many thanks for your help on this.
>
> All best wishes,
>
> Julia Bishop
>
>
> Julia C. Bishop (Dr)
> National Centre for English Cultural Tradition
> University of Sheffield
> Sheffield  S10 2TN
> U.K.
>
> Tel: (Direct Line) 0114 222 6295
> (NATCECT Office) 0114 222 6296
> EMAIL: [log in to unmask]
>
>