Natalie Merchant has been appointed to the Library of Congress’s American Folklife Center Board of Trustees by US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to support the ongoing preservation and promotion of the country’s folklore, cultural traditions, music, and arts, and aid in the long-term planning and policy direction of the center.

“Natalie Merchant, has been an important singer-songwriter for decades, both as a solo artist and as former lead singer of 10,000 Maniacs,” says Senator Schumer. “Raised in Jamestown and now a resident of the Hudson Valley, she has had a profound impact on American music culture and has an invaluable perspective for American folk tradition. She is the working heir to the legacy of Billie Holiday, Odetta, Pete Seeger, and Levon Helm. That is why I am proud to appoint Upstate New York’s own Natalie Merchant to the Library of Congress’s American Folklife Center Board of Trustees.”

Schumer goes on to say: “She’ll make her way and provide important contributions to the board’s ongoing policy for the hub of American folklife. Natalie—you’ve been so kind and generous—and your service will help preserve our nation’s most important cultural treasures for generations to come.”

Merchant says: "It’s such an honor to be selected to serve on the Folklife Center board. I’ve admired the work of this agency for many years and hope to find some way to help further their mission of preserving and promoting all forms of folk arts in America.”

The American Folklife Center was created in 1976 by the US Congress to "preserve and present American folklife" through programs of research, documentation, archival preservation, reference service, live performance, exhibitions, publications, and training. Designated by the US Congress as the national center for folklife documentation and research, the American Folklife Center continues to collect and document living traditional culture, while preserving for the future its collections in the preservation facilities of the Library of Congress.

The American Folklife Center Archive, established in the Library of Congress Music Division in 1928, is now one of the largest archives of ethnographic materials from the United States and around the world, encompassing millions of items of ethnographic and historical documentation recorded from the nineteenth century to the present. These collections, which include extensive audiovisual documentation of traditional arts, cultural expressions, and oral histories, offer researchers access to the songs, stories, and other creative expressions of people from diverse communities.