Brazil Cordel Literature Web Archive

The Brazil Cordel Literature Web Archive is a collection of preserved websites and blogs that publish what is known in Portugese as ‘literatura de cordel,’ or chapbooks. Chapbooks are historically a short, published book that served as street literature, which provided entertainment, including retelling folklore, and current events, as well as provide community updates on things like outbreaks of disease. While they do still exist in this format and with similar foci, it is now very common that they are published online, as blogs or as websites unto themselves. These cordel-blogs have been preserved in this web archive, which finds them to be a particularly rich source of information and perspective that “represent[s] the voice of the blogger rather than the organization that sponsored the website.”

Beyond this collection, the Library of Congress website is an open-access resource available for students and teachers to browse. It boasts a wide selection of documents, many of which are free to use. These documents include photographs, books, films, web archives, legislation and more, from a range of subjects and time periods. The Library of Congress also offers some lesson plans making use of primary sources they host, a blog describing teaching methods, and other resources to enhance both the student and teacher experience. These resources, combined with its easy to use platform, make it, as well as this collection, great resources and guides for use in the classroom.

This collection is especially useful for students who are interested in how traditional things have been translated into an increasingly digital world. This collection is also useful for students interested in learning Portugese and it's used outside of a classroom. Because of the community oriented communication style of these sources, this resource makes a great tool for learning how language and culture are connected.