I want to thank Suzanne Pickens for her kind words on behalf of the
Vernacular Architecture Forum.  I was a bit slow to respond as I was
communicating with a member who is putting together a web page for the
VAF.  We haven't had any sort of formal announcement of the project and
it is still very much 'under construction' as many of these things are.
:)  The URL is:
 
http://www.vernaculararchitecture.org/
 
The print is somewhat small (at least, on my machine) and I've commented
on this already.  If you have any other comments, suggestions, gripes,
etc., please drop me a line and I'll see that they get passed along.
 
There are two versions of the bibliography database available.  One is
the older db at the U.Fl site.  This has more sophisticated search
engines (I believe), but only covers up to Newsletter #65 (the current
issue is/will be #76).  This file also has a bit of garbage in the form
of our acknowledgement texts, so if you search for "Camille Wells" e.g.,
(who contributes often) you'll get her writings along with a pile of
'thanks to' comments.
 
The newer version of the bibliography database is maintained by
Newsletter editor, Gary Stanton, and is cumulative to the present and
regularly updated, but the formatting of output is a bit funky (IMO).
Anyway, this is all work we do gratis in our 'spare time' and we have a
ways to go on the path to perfection.  ;)
 
The bibliography was begun, along with the newsletter, by Dell Upton in
1979/1980.  You won't find many older citations as it is primarily a
'current publications' kind of list.  We try to include anything on
vernacular architecture internationally and, on American topics, we'll
include food ways, folklore and folklife, crafts, 'academic' art and
architectural history, cultural geography, material culture, and, of
course, historical archaeology.
 
BTW, if anybody has a report or publication they'd like to see listed,
*please* send me your citations.  We love to hear about interesting work
on obscure topics, especially if it's something that doesn't appear in
the standard indices and databases.  I'll also include ordering
information for gray literature or small presses (don't forget to
include cost and shipping charges with the address).  E-mail and snail
mail welcome!  :)
 
Marty
 
Martin C. Perdue
Bibliographer
Vernacular Architecture Forum
105 King William DR
Williamsburg, VA 23188-1920
 
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