Visit to the English Folk Dance and Song Society Library and Archive, Vaughan Williams Memorial Library

The library was founded in 1930 on the personal book collection of Cecil Sharp, the most active collector of folk songs and dances of the early 20th century. Besides this, the VWML also holds a number of archival collections created by early members of the Folk Song Society, including George Butterworth, Lucy Broadwood, and Maud Karpeles.

The VWML has continued to acquire new collections and unique materials to become a fully multimedia library, and in 2011 the VWML was awarded designated status by the MLA. A number of these collections were digitised in 2012 as part of the seminal Heritage Lottery Funded project called "The Full English", which saw 19 collections of 80,000 images digitised, catalogued and indexed to intellectual item level.

This visit to Cecil Sharp House will give attendees the chance to see the newly refurbished library and its archival spaces, with a overview of the history of the Folk Song Society and The English Folk Dance Society. Some of the VWML's more impressive holdings will be made available to view and explore, along with a demonstration of how a selection of these items are now available to access online.