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Paper short abstract:

In 2020 the Estonian Folklore Archives of the Estonian Literary Museum faced the danger of severe funding cuts. Communities who use the services of the Archives stepped up, spread word, initiated wider discussions on humanities funding, and made a public appeal to the government.

Paper long abstract:

The Estonian Folklore Archives forms part of the Estonian Literary Museum, a state-funded research and development institution. The funding of the whole institution had been project based for a long time, but with reorganizations in the research funding system it reached a point in 2020 when the future of the whole institution, but especially of the folklore archives, was insecure. The Estonian Literary Museum functions as a central memory institution containing important archival collections on Estonian culture and cultural history. Its archivists and researchers collect, archive, systematize, disseminate, and research the materials. The task of researchers, in addition to research, has been to contribute to the development of the archives and the public dissemination of the content of the archival collections. In Estonia, for historical reasons folklore has been perceived and interpreted as one of the main key components of cultural identity. Folklorists have served as mediators between the sources and wider audiences, guiding and counselling users of folklore materials. Recent decades have seen traditional and folk music flourish in Estonia, but folklore collections are also used by artists and writers, tourism companies, local people, etc. When the communities that use archival materials heard of potential funding cuts they decided to step up, using their creative talents to bring the issue to the attention of the public and politicians. The case demonstrates how communities, whose needs the archives serve, can offer invaluable support in extreme situations.