About the Database and Finding Aids

In July 2002, the Milman Parry Collection of Oral Literature (MPCOL) received a generous grant from Harvard University's Library Digital Initiative (LDI) for the development of digital resources. The MPCOL's digitalization project has had two distinct goals: first, to make available to the general public a wide selection of the original manuscripts and audio recordings contained in the Parry archive; second, to develop a new set of tools which will improve access to archived materials.

The second of these goals coincided well with LDI's stated purpose of improving the digital infrastructure of the Harvard library system. The partnership with LDI has resulted not only in the creation of finding aids for both the Milman Parry and Albert B. Lord Collections (subsets of the larger MPCOL), but also in the development of a new electronic database.

The MPCOL database is based on Matthew Kay's The Index of the Milman Parry Collection 1933-1935 (New York: Garland, 1995). At present it includes records only for the heroic songs and interviews in the Parry Collection and for the Albert B. Lord Collection, but MPCOL intends to expand coverage to include as well the Parry Collection’s lyric songs and Lord's 1937 collection of Albanian epic.

Please Note: The Milman Parry and Albert B. Lord Finding Aids are not yet on-line.

Collection Database

The electronic database of the Milman Parry Collection of Oral Literature contains records for all of the epic songs, stories, and conversations in the Milman Parry Collection, and for all the songs in the Albert B. Lord Collection (currently over 1500 records). Users may search, save, and email these records according to flexible criteria.

In addition to the names of singers and titles of individual songs, the database provides information on the place, date, and method of recording, the media in which the song is represented in the collection, biographical facts relating to the singer, and various other details of interest. If a song or text is available in digital format, users can link directly from the database record to the associated digital object(s).

The Milman Parry Collection of Oral Literature database is based on The Index of the Milman Parry Collection 1933-1935 (New York: Garland, 1995), by Matthew Kay.

Go to Collection Database

Milman Parry Finding Aid

Harvard's Online Archival Search Information System (OASIS) will contain the Finding Aid for the Milman Parry Collection, a subset of the larger Milman Parry Collection of Oral Literature

The Finding Aid will comprise a detailed description of the history and physical contents of the collection assembled by Milman Parry during his travels in Yugoslavia in 1933-35.

Albert B. Lord Finding Aid

Harvard's Online Archival Search Information System (OASIS) will contain the Finding Aid for the Albert B. Lord Collection.

The Finding Aid will comprise a detailed description of the history and physical contents of the collection assembled by Albert Lord during his travels in Yugoslavia in 1950-51.

Home About the Collection About the Database Collection Database Milman Parry Finding Aid Albert B. Lord Finding Aid Milman Parry Songs Albert B. Lord Songs Singers and Tales in the 21st Century Publications Gallery Contact Us