The Special Collections library at Utah State University has acquired one of the nation's leading collections of ballads and folk songs.
The collection was compiled by G. Malcolm Laws Jr., professor emeritus of English at University of Pennsylvania. He is author of "Native American Balladry," "American Balladry from British Broadsides" and "The British Literary Ballad." His library is largely a collection of folk songs and ballads. It contains books printed in the 1700s."This collection is the Torah of the ballad scholarship world," said Barre Toelken, director of USU's folklore program. "It goes back to the time when ballads were first printed. It's like having an early edition of the Old Testament."
The 600-volume collection contains regional gatherings of songs, many about occupations such as cowboys, sailors and lumberjacks, and some dealing with dramatic events like mine disasters and railroad accidents. In addition to the songs taken from peoples' singing, the collection has numerous scholarly studies of ballads and singers, as well as studies of ballad scholarship and scholars.
There are many older English and Scottish ballads from the early days of collecting. Many of the books are rare collectors' editions because of printing, illustrations or bindings.
In the collection are the 1777 "Old Ballads Historical and Narrative"; "A Lytell Geste of Robin Hood," published in 1847, and such regional books as "Ballads and Songs from Utah," "Mississippi River Folklore" and "Songs Along the Mahantongo."
"This is a collection we could not pass up," said Ann Buttars, curator of special collections and archives. "I find it exciting to think we now actually have it and that researchers will be able to use it."