The HRAF Collection of Ethnography, which was first built on paper in 1949 (converted to microfiche in the late 1950s), currently contains nearly one million pages of information on more than 350 cultures of the world, past and present. Each culture file contains a variety of source documents (books, articles, and manuscripts) that have been indexed and organized according to HRAF’s comprehensive culture and subject classification systems: The Outline of Cultural Materials (OCM) and the Outline of World Cultures (OWC).

Most microfiche contain about 240 file pages on each fiche. In addition to the file pages, most fiche also contain eye-readable flashers which indicate where new subject categories begin. Each microfiche also has a header strip that includes the name of the culture, its OWC code, the subject category codes for the subjects covered on the fiche, and the fiche serial number. The entire microfiche collection consists of 23,381 fiche, covering approximately 350 cultures.

From the 1950s until 1993, the annual installments of the HRAF Collection of Ethnography were distributed on microfiche. In 1993, with installment 42, microfiche production ended. Materials since 1994 (as well as retrospective conversions and updates of existing materials) are available in electronic form only.

It is important to note that the cultures in the microfiche and electronic versions of the HRAF Collection of Ethnography are not covered in the same ways; the online version (eHRAF World Cultures) includes more recent documents and not all the older documents are retained such as the historical country and city files. Although HRAF is planning to include all the “anthropological cultures” online, we usually have a truncated version in the eHRAF World Cultures database.

Important Notes

1. While the microfiche collections of the HRAF Collection of Ethnography are the property of HRAF, the HRAF Board of Sponsoring members will annually consider all requests from member institutions who no longer want to house the microfiche at their institutions. In other words, should the institution wish to transfer them to another institution or discard them, they are asked to put this request in writing and send to hraf@yale.edu. In the case of a proposed transfer, we will need the name of the proposed institution.

2. Keep in mind that while much of the collection has been put into eHRAF World Cultures and is online, there are currently no plans to transition all the documents on fiche to electronic format.  Some collections, particularly the historical country files, will not be included in eHRAF.

Complete Collection List

The Complete Collection List (in Excel format) provides a list of culture names, page and document counts and other information currently available in the online eHRAF World Cultures database and in the HRAF microfiche Files. culture names and page and document counts the microfiche format (HRAF Collection of Ethnography). This Excel list may be of interest to those member institutions wishing to compare the two formats. The columns in blue are in reference to the HRAF Files in the microfiche and formats.  The columns in red refer to the cultures in the eHRAF World Cultures database.  Columns in black (region name and OWC code) are common to both — HRAF microfiche Files and eHRAF online. Any fields that are blank means that no information is available.

The Excel format is practical because it enables you to modify any columns to your needs, including adding up the numbers in the columns to generate a total page and document count (HRAF’s units of measure). Contact HRAF to find out whether your academic institution has the microfiche format.

The table below is an excerpt of what can be found in the Complete Collection List.

Nature and Use of the HRAF Files: A Research and Teaching Guide

This guide, downloadable in PDF format, was published in 1974 and was used to explain the nature and structure of the HRAF microfiche files.  Although the guide focuses on the HRAF microfiche files it provides relevant information in understanding the nature of the current format — the online eHRAF World Cultures database.

Topics in Nature and Use of the HRAF Files: A Research and Teaching Guide (49 MB; 49 Pages) include:
Part I.  The Nature of the HRAF Files: An Overview
Part II. Study and Research Applications of the HRAF Files
Part III. Teaching Applications of the HRAF Files
Part IV. How to Use the HRAF Files: Principles and Techniques
Part V. Organization of the HRAF Files
Part VI. Toward A  Comprehensive, Cultural Information System

Sample Page for HRAF Paper and Microfiche Files (2 MB; 2 Pages)

Microfiche Fees

The Associate Member dues for fiche (a minimum of 50 fiche) are $11.40 US per fiche in silver halide. (Pricing subject to change without notice.)

• 30% discount for 12,000 or more fiche.
• 15% discount for 6000-11,999 fiche.
• 10% discount for the whole Probability Sample Files (about 4400 fiche).

HRAF’s Collection of Ethnography on microfiche is available solely from:

UMI/ProQuest Information and Learning
300 North Zeeb Road, P.O. Box 1346
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106-1346

Tel: 734-761-4700 or 1-800-521-0600
Fax: 734-975-6271
Web: www.il.proquest.com