New Hampshire Library of Traditional Music & Dance

The NH Library of Traditional Music and Dance is designed to serve the research needs of historians, folklorists, musicians, callers, and dancers alike. Created in 1992 to consolidate and improve access to unique music collections maintained by the University of New Hampshire Milne Special Collections department, the library consists of materials generated both by individuals and organizations. Its holdings include books, periodicals, printed music, recordings, photographs, and archival materials pertaining to traditional music and dance in the United States and elsewhere, with a strong focus on New England traditions.

Digital Collections

External Sites

  • Special Collections
    Gloria Berchielli was a contra dancer, and was particularly involved with programs at Pinewoods Camp and weekends at Hudson Guild Farm. The Gloria Berchielli collection contains photographs of various dance events from May 1952 until 1986. The…
  • Special Collections
    Resident of Sharon, New Hampshire This 1847 dance caller’s 40 page manuscript book contains many well-known old dances, including Portland Fancy, Fishers Hornpipe, Tom and Jerry, Chorus Jig, and Hull’s Victory.
  • Special Collections
    Ted Sannella (1928-1995) was a square and contra dance caller from Boston, later moving to Maine. Ted began teaching New England dancing as a professional caller in 1946. He was the author of Balance and Swing (1982), and Swing the Next (1996). Ted…
  • Special Collections
    Dudley Laufman (b. 1930) is a folk dance caller, band leader, musician, composer, author, and poet from Canterbury, NH. He was heavily influenced by the late caller Ralph Page, and was awarded a National Heritage Fellowship Award in 2009. Without…