Bob Dylan archive finds home at University of Tulsa, Oklahoma

Tulsa, Oklahoma has been named the home for the Bob Dylan archive, the University of Tulsa and the George Kaiser Family Foundation announced today.

TU and GKFF acquired the collection of over 6,000 items that track Dylan’s five-decade long music career and his work before he became a famous singer/songwriter. The collection includes never-before-seen manuscripts, notebooks, letters, films, videos, art and photos.

“Bob Dylan is a national treasure whose work continues to enrich the lives of millions the world over, and we are proud to be bringing such an important, comprehensive and culturally significant archive to Tulsa,” GFKK executive director Ken Levit said in a statement. “Our combined philanthropic and academic approach made a strong case for assuring Mr. Dylan and his representatives that Tulsa would provide the ideal environment to care for and exhibit this collection, and the result is a boon for Tulsa that will soon attract Bob Dylan fans and scholars to our city from around the world.”

TU President Steadman Upham highlighted the growing importance of the study of Dylan’s work. “Dylanology is a growing aspect of social science and humanities research, and Tulsa will soon become the international epicenter for the academic pursuit of all things Dylan,” he said.

Dylan said that he was “glad” to have his archive in the same city that is home to the Woody Guthrie Center in the Brady Arts District. Guthrie was a major influence on Dylan’s work.”To me it makes a lot of sense and it's a great honor,” he said.

some of the highlights in the collection include a notebook with the lyrics for songs from Blood on the Tracks (1975), complete concert films from 1980 and 1993, recordings from 1959 and the leather jacket Dylan wore at his famous 1965 Newport Folk Festival performance.

Dylan still records and performs, releasing the album Tempest in 2012 and Shadows in the Night last year.