In every Austrian state, the local folk music organisation maintains an archive with a regional focus. In its role as the national association for the federal states, the Archive of the Austrian Folk Song Institute is responsible for networking and for coordinating joint undertakings and projects at national and international level. This includes fieldwork, events, exhibitions, training and publications. Serving as a bridge between academia and adult education, it plays an important role in preserving and disseminating immaterial cultural heritage.
1904: The Ministry for Culture and Education required that all national songs and dances and their melodies in Austria and the former Crown lands should be recorded and thereby documented. The Archive of the Austrian Folk Song Institute was established.
1955: The Archive of the Austrian Folk Song Institute was founded as a documentation centre that would supervise multi-regional projects and bring together copies of the manuscript collections held in the folk song archives of the federal states, for the purpose of academic study.
1994: The Archive of the Austrian Folk Song Institute became affiliated to the Austrian National Library.
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