HRAF was founded by noted anthropologist George Peter Murdoch in 1949 to encourage cross-cultural study of human culture, society and behavior. HRAF's mission is accomplished mainly through compiling, indexing and distributing ethnographic material and other texts that are indexed by culture and subject. It is useful to scholars in a variety of disciplines, but particularly those focusing on comparative research, for example, anthropology of religion.

In its early years the HRAF collection was distributed in paper. In 1958 microfiche distribution began (Microfiche 848) and in 1995 all new material, as well as selected older material, began to be released on CD (CD 88 in the Beck Center). Now the electronic collection is available via the Web on the Euclid Gateway.

eHRAF includes over 800,000 pages of text representing a fascinating collection of cultures. In addition to traditional cultures such as the Akan, Tiv, Bemba, Hausa and Wolof of Africa, there are collections of materials representing political hotspots such as Serbs, Croats, Bosnian Muslims, and Koreans. There are also interesting collections devoted to American ethnic and Indian groups which range from Serbian Americans and Cuban Americans to Blackfoot and Iroquois.

As with traditional HRAF, you can search eHRAF using Murdoch's Outline of World Cultures (OWC) or Outline of Cultural Materials (OCM). The former provides codes for a wide range of human behavior and the latter codifies culture groups. The text of both classification schemes is available online. In addition you can use eHRAF using free-text, proximity and Boolean searching.

For more information about HRAF, see their Web site at http://www.yale.edu/hraf/. A list of cultures and formats, Human Relations Area Files Collection of Ethnography, is available in the library or by requesting a copy from Greta Boers, Reference Librarian-- Anthropology (librgb@learnlink.emory.edu) or 7-0150. Individual and group instruction can be scheduled. HRAF also has a series of teaching modules online, e.g., Anthropology of Religion: Short Paper on Sacred Objects & Places and on Animism.